They'll tear us apart if you give them the chance
by ccootttt
Summary: Daphne's parents are going to great lengths to keep her away from the rest of the gang, convinced that they are only protecting their daughter. But are they really helping? With their daughter miserable and a deadly, new threat, will Mystery inc help?
1. Arguments ans Orders

"Mother you _can't_ be serious!"

"Yes Daphne, yes I am deadly serious, I don't want my daughter running around with a bunch of..._delinquents." _

Daphne scowled, she hated her mother referring to her friends like that. "Mother," she began through gritted teeth, "How many times do I have to tell you, they are my friends, not some kind of criminals like the people we stop and save this town from."

"I just don't want you to get hurt." Her mother protested.

"Well I won't, I'm perfectly safe with three people my own age and a huge Great Dane!"

Her Mother's eyes narrowed into slits, so thin that Daphne wasn't even sure if she could see through them. "Oh yes Daphne," her voice was cold, reducing Daphne to a timid trembling child with a simple change of tone, "That's why you've ended up in hospital so many times, from falling down trapdoors or getting yourself kidnapped."

"Well I...I..." Daphne stuttered nervously, her mother's gaze ripping her into pieces.

"Your Mother is right Daphne." Came a firm voce from the hall. Daphne's Father stepped into the living room, a stern expression etched on his face as he looked at the two bickering women. "This has been going on for far too long Daphne and I don't want it to carry on any further." Daphne felt sick. She had always feared her Father, with her not seeing him that much and him only talking to her on the phone, she found it overwhelmingly daunting when speaking to him in person.

"D-daddy..." Daphne whispered, backing away a little.

"I called him Daphne; he took a flight home to have a world with you about all of this. We're worried about you Daphne" Her head shot round, glaring at her Mother for this act of betrayal.

"I'm_ fine_." She growled stubbornly.

An ominous silence engulfed the room as Daphne sat down on the sofa and looked from her Mother to her Father, who were obviously planning something. Her heart began pounding so hard she swore they could both hear it as her father began to approach her, stopping only a few feet away.

"Daphne, your Mother and I have decided that it's in your best interest that you no longer see those 'friends' who you always seem to be with." Her mouth fell agape, her mind refusing to register what had been said, but she knew what they said, she just didn't want to believe it.

"You, you what?" She practically whispered, unsure of what was actually happening.

"You are no longer allowed to see them, speak to them nor have any contact with them from this point onwards, do you understand?" Her father said sternly.

Daphne's mouth remained open, in a state of shock, she couldn't think of anything to say. At a loss for words she simply looked up at them, tears brimming.

"Daphne dear," Her mother said soothingly as she sat down next to her and gently rubbed her shoulders, "I know this may seem a little drastic, but we just want what best for you, you deserve a rewarding career like your sisters have."

"_What?"_ Daphne hissed, "You want me to be like one of _them?"_ Her blood boiled, she had never been able to live up to the expectations set by her four older sisters, they were all so perfect in their parent's eyes.

"Daphne don't say it like that, I mean come on, we have a soldier in the family, a doctor-"

"And what else?" Daphne said coldly, her head shooting up and tears beginning to spill. "A model? Oh yes mother, that's what I want to be, a mindless woman who has to rely on her looks to make it in life, striving to be thin and beautiful and to do that I'll become anorexic or bulimic." She hissed, as she remembered the sister she despised, the one who always tried her very best to make Daphne's life a misery, she was delighted when she went off to Rome for a job.

"Don't you dare talk about you sister like that young lady!" Her Father grunted.

"I could have been talking about models in general, but thanks for backing up my point about them dad; mindless, egocentric _bitches." _Daphne replied, her voice now shaking. "I'd rather make a it as something useful, which is precisely why I'm solving these mysteries with my friends, so I don't end up like the very people I can't stand."

Her Father erupted. "Well I'd rather have a model as a daughter than a silly little girl who thinks she has what it takes to be a detective, when all she can do is fall into traps and get kidnapped; what would you do Daphne, what _will _you do when one of these criminals decides to do more than just tie you up and hide you in a closet?"

She winced, she had often thought of what could happen if she didn't get rescued, if the gang failed and she was left at the mercy of the latest crazed villain.

"But you don't. " He continued "You just don't think do you, well then again that's not your job is it? Velma does the brainwork, and you just sit back and try and make yourself feel like your important to them, when you're really only there so that they can use your money and that blonde kid can ogle you."

Daphne couldn't tale this verbal abuse, she bolted for the door, tears now streaming down her face due to the cruel truth her Father had just made all too clear for the aspiring detective. As she reached the door she reached out, only to have her Father grip her wrist like a vice. Looking u she could see how serious he was, he really meant what he said.

"I've hired security for around the house, we've phoned the school and you will now be picked up and collected from school the moment the bell rings. You are not to see those people again, if you do, there will be grave consequences" He hissed at her.

She gasped as his grip suddenly tightened while he uttered his last sentence and then let go, acting like nothing had even happened. She pulled the door open and darted up the stairs, a mixture despair, disappointment and fear ran through her veins.

"Oh and Daphne," She heard her Fathers voice, a slightly amused tone in his voice, "We've cut off your internet and Phone, so you can't try to call them." He paused, waiting to see if she had anything to say back, with no reply he simply called up "Goodnight sweetie!" before he grinned and took a seat next to his wife, leaving his daughter to wallow in grief.


	2. Monday Morning

Monday morning came all too quickly for Daphne. It was Friday night that her parents had told her what they were planning and it tore her up inside.

She was hoping that it wouldn't be as bad as she had initially thought, convincing herself that it she stopped thinking about it, that everything would just clear up and by the time the weekend was over, everything would be back to normal. Oh how wrong she was.

Over the weekend her Father had hired new security guards, a new chauffeur and had them watch her all the time. She wasn't allowed to leave the grounds unless instructed to and had to be inside the house by 7pm at the latest. Unlike the last staff, these people weren't at all friendly or talkative, they replied in one word answers, avoided any eye contact and if they hadn't of stopped her leaving, she'd have sworn they didn't even acknowledge her.

Now, she sat in the car on her way to school to face her first day without the company of the rest of Mystery Inc. But then again, these guards couldn't keep watch on her while she was at school, she would have a little more freedom there. Or at least she thought.

She walked into homeroom, newfound hope pushing her forward and smiled at Velma before sitting down next to her tiny brunette friend.

"hey Daph, I've been trying to call you all weekend, where have you been?" She asked smiling at the red head.

"Oh Velma, it's been awful, really" Daphne mumbled glumly, before proceeding to explain what had happened.

"Oh that is bad" Velma said, a thoughtful look on her face.

"I just don't know what to do Velma," Daphne cried softly "If they knew i was talking to you now god knows what they'll do."

Velma looked up at her friends sad eyes, sympathy growing inside her, and was about to reply when Mrs. Piper, a small grey haired woman in round glasses walked up to their desk. "Miss. Blake," She said in her prissy voice, "The principle wishes to speak to you."

"Uhhh, okay" Daphne mumbled before glancing at Velma who was now biting her lip, in deep thought.

The Principles office was only a few doors down from their homeroom, making it a short but nervous walk as she felt she may collapse anytime soon. 'Didn't daddy say that he had phoned the school?' Daphne though, growing more and more anxious with each step.

After a walk that felt as though it lasted hours, Daphne reached the Principal's office, she knocked on the door, her hand shaking. "Come in." Called out a gruff voice causing Daphne to jump back a little.

Heart pounding, she slowly opened the door, her voice breath caught in her through as she hoarsely said "You wanted to see me sir?"

Hey eyed her up and down "Ahh yes, Miss. Blake, we have a lot to talk about..."


	3. Unwanted Escort

_Author's note: Thanks to the people who reviewed, I have a general idea of where this story is heading, such as who Daphne ends up hanging round with, how she manages to see the gang and what the new threat is, it's just the matter of building up to it all I guess ._

_Reviews are appreciated so please tell me what you think ^-^_

"Please take a seat" Principal Evans said sternly. He wasn't happy, and Daphne could tell, he was giving her the look that made some teenagers burst into tears, and Daphne felt like she was about to any second.

He wasn't happy with the gang as it was, with all the trouble they seemed to cause and the damage from their various cases, they weren't exactly his favourite students, despite the fact that Fred was the beloved quarterback and Velma won the science fair every year. He usually picked on Daphne to get the information he needed; threatening her with a call to her parents always had her spilling information as she begged him not to call, however, he always did in the end.

She fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat as Principal Evans glared at her. "We've had a phone call from home Daphne," he said, his mouth forming into a sly grin "It seems they don't want you to see those friends of yours anymore. Do you know anything about this?"

Daphne looked down at her lap, 'he's loving this' she thought bitterly as she dared a glance at the Principal, whose smile was rival only to a Cheshire cat. "...Yes." She mumbled her voice cracking slightly as she looked down once again.

"Just checking." He smiled back, his grin threatening to split his face if it grew any larger. "So, being a Principal that never wants to disappoint a parent, I guess you have gathered that from now on you shall no longer be able to see Fred, Velma or Norville so long as you are on the school premises."

Daphne's mouth opened, ready to protest, but closed as she thought against it, she didn't want to get herself or anyone else into anymore trouble. "y-yes Sir" She stammered grimly; eyes never once leaving her lap.

"As we cannot be sure that you are sticking to these rules, your parents and I have decided that it is best if are assigned an escort to monitor you while you are at school. He will be in all your lessons and you shall be seated next to him in each one, He will make sure that you don't try to speak to those three people and will stop any of them from trying to speak to you. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes Sir" She said once again, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Good." He paused savouring the fact that he was one step closer to separating those mischievous youths. "Red!" He called out, a smug grin etched on his face, "You can come in now."

Daphne's jaw dropped, her head shooting up to see none other than Red Herring standing at the door.

"Hey Daphne." Red smiled his face almost as smug as the principals.

"Wha-What!" Daphne cried out, her voice rising slightly. 'Oh god, oh god, i can't believe this, not Red anyone but Red' she repeated in her head as she stared at the boy who had made their lives hell for so long. 'How can he let such a bully escort me around the school!' she thought, panic rising in her chest.

"Daphne, I'm sure you know Red, he shall be your escort until you graduate." Principal Evans spoke softly, waiting in anticipation to see Daphne's reaction to this. She looked at him in disbelief, surely he knew that Fred and Red despised each other, that he constantly humiliated Velma and Shaggy, and has been begging Daphne for a date for years now.

"Yeah Daph," Red spoke as Daphne continued to stare at the two as if they were insane. "I'll keep those freaks away from you; you'll be safe with me." He continued, a menacing grin appearing on his tanned face. "In fact, your parents specifically asked for my help to do this, they seem to think I'm more suited for the job than anyone else, and with them paying me to do this, how could I refuse?" His smile broadened, "And of course, I get to spend time with the most beautiful girl in the entire school."

Red was charming at times, but Daphne saw right through his act, she knew he was violent and now she found herself fearing not only for herself, but for the safety of the people she loved like a family. Red was the only person to Rival Fred's athletic ability, as well as good looks. Both of them had hated each other from the beginning, and always tried to outdo each other. As the years went on, Fred pulled ahead in some sports while Red found himself moving onto different sports such as boxing and wrestling. This just increased the tension between the two, as it meant that Red was just as strong as Fred and a fight between the two could have them both severely injured.

Still with no reply from the stunned Daphne, the Principal spoke up "Daphne, your parents and Reds parents are good friends, as you probably know, and they think that you should be spending time with people of your own class rather than those lower." He said it simply, as if it were nothing for her parents to want this.

"T-That's wrong!" Daphne cried out, finally finding her voice. "It shouldn't matter what class they are, they are my friends and I'd rather spend time with them than this stuck up snob!" She paused, panting slightly from her anger and then added "And Freddy _is_ the same class."

Red and Principal Evans sighed. "Daphne whether you like it or not you are not seeing those _friends _anymore" Principal Evans said, his voice low, anger building up inside him. Daphne could see this and backed away from his desk slightly, only to find herself right next to Red.

"Go." He muttered simply, picking up a nearby stress toy and squeezing it hard, causing Daphne to wince a little.

"Come on," Red said smugly, "We have chemistry first, and guess whose your new lab partner."

And with that Red gripped Daphne's hand and led her out of the office Just as the bell rang.


	4. Chemistry

Velma was sat at her desk in the science room, early as usual, staring at the door waiting for her friend to return from the Principal's office. Honestly she was rather worried about the red headed girl, she had told her about her parents going to great lengths to keep them apart and it didn't seem unlikely that they would phone the school.

Most of the class had now entered the room, including Fred and Shaggy who took their seats behind Velma, but none of the people who entered were Daphne, much to Velma's disappointment.

"Hey," Fred called to Velma, "Where's Daph?"

"She got sent to the Principals office." Velma said, still staring at the door anxiously.

"Like, what for?" Shaggy gasped, wondering what the group could have possibly done this time.

"Well, it's kind of a long story..." Velma murmured, still not really paying attention to the young men sat behind her, but instead keeping her eyes on the door.

"Well come on Velms, we have time, I mean Mr. Street is always late anyway." Fred said, leaning forward a little more, growing more and more nervous about what was going on with Daphne.

Both the bys listened intently as Velma quickly explained what had been happening at the Blake household, occasionally glancing at the door expectantly. Velma continued her story, but stopped abruptly as a familiar red head entered the classroom.

"Daphne!" Velma called out, motioning with her hand for Daphne to come over.

Daphne smiled, and began to walk, only to have a hand roughly grip her arm and pull her back. Stunned, Velma blinked at the odd sight before her, as Shaggy gawped and Fred's hands clenched into fists. Daphne was stood by the classroom door, in the firm grip of none other than Red Herring, who was looking over at Fred, a content grin plastered across his face. Stood next t the pair of teenagers was Mr. Street, speaking quietly into Red's ear as he glanced at the other members of Mystery Inc and nodded.

"Brenda," Mr. Street spoke up, "Can you please move next to Velma, she will be your new lab partner from now on."

Velma wasn't sure how to react to this, Brenda was coming closer to her desk and Red and Daphne were moving over towards Red's desk. Daphne was staring at the floor as Red pulled her by the arm to his desk, still grinning at Fred. Velma turned back to see Shaggy, mouth agape, just staring at the pair as they sat down, next to him an increasingly annoyed blonde haired boy.

"What's _he_ doing with her" Fred said, his voice a low growl, his eyes narrowing into slits.

Velma found herself becoming a little scared of Fred, as he glared daggers at his worst enemy and the girl he cared for the most. Even though Fred and Daphne weren't a couple, it was obvious to everyone apart from the two of them, that they adored each other. Fred was _very _protective over her, and hated to see her with anyone else.

The teacher was droning on, but as usual, no one was listening and were having their own conversations, except for Daphne that was. She was trying her best _not _to have a conversation with Red and seemed to be the only one in the room paying Mr. Street any attention. Of course, sat next to Red, this wasn't easy. He was constantly prodding her and wrapping his arm around her waist, to which she simply wriggled and shook him off her. 'Dammit, this only seems to make him try harder to get a conversation going' she thought, glancing up and finding herself face to face with Red.

"Hey," he said smoothly, flashing a dashing smile at her, "You have gorgeous eyes."

Daphne couldn't help but blush, after all, she was just a girl and he was _really _handsome. Pushing this thought to the back of her mind she turned around, muttering a quiet "Thank you" and carried on with her work.

She could feel his eyes still on her, and found herself blushing once more as he moved closer to her. 'God Daph. Stop it, he's a jerk' she told herself, finding her hands shaking slightly.

"You cold Daph?" Red commented, placing his hand over hers. "Whoa you really are." He said, putting his arm around her waist as pulling her closer to him.

He was warm. No, he was hot. She couldn't deny it, Red was muscular, tanned, had perfect teeth and amazing reddish brown hair, in short, the man she saw in her dreams. 'Oh why does it have to be Red?' she moaned in her head, breathing in the scent of his aftershave. She tried to pull away, but every time she did, he pulled her closer and complimented her again, making her stay in place and blush ferociously.

Velma, Fred and Shaggy watched all of this, their expressions never changing. Velma and Shaggy sat, just gazing at them, while Fred glared in anger, irritation, but most of all, envy. "Why does she have to sit with _him?" _Fred growled, "I mean he's a bully for God sake, why would she sit with _Red Herring, _of all people?" Fred muttered, pure disgust creeping into his tone as her uttered Red's name. He could see her keep looking at them, so why was she over there?

"Well," Velma began, sighing softly, "Maybe she doesn't have a choice."

"Like yeah, after all the years of rejecting Red she wouldn't, like, just go snuggle up with him like that" Shaggy stated.

Velma looked up, Red was now twirling a strand of Daphne's hair around his index finger while she gazed longingly at her friends; her eyes begging for them to help her, but not speaking one word.


	5. Please Don't Start a Fight

The bell rang for second lesson, and Fred wasted no time bolting out of the classroom, leaving Shaggy and Velma to quickly follow.

"I need to talk to her." Fred said, pacing outside the door as he watched Red take Daphne by the wrist and lead her towards the door.

"But like dude, we're not supp-"

"Daphne!" Fred cried out, interrupting his cowardly friend and gently grabbing Daphne's free arm.

"Hey!" Red growled, pulling Daphne closer to him by her wrist. "You're not to talk to her anymore, understand Jones?" Red sneered, tightening his grip on the young red head.

"No Red, no I don't understand why she has to tolerate your company instead of spending time with her real friends!" Fred practically shouted back, unintentionally drawing attention to the group of youths. Fred tugged on Daphne's arm, dragging her closer to him.

Red took a step forward. "You're just jealous Jones." He said, a sly grin appearing on his face.

Fred took a step forward, oblivious to the fact that Daphne was now crushed between the two young men and slowly losing feeling in her arms from their vice like hold on her. "G-guys..." She mumbled, wriggling around and looking up, "...Guys...I..." She stammered.

Both boys looked down at her, and then back up at each other. Red was grinding his teeth as he glared at Fred. "You know I can take you Jones, I'll kick your ass right now, in front of everyone," Red hissed, "And you'll be the one who gets in trouble for it 'cause I'm only doing my job."Red sneered again.

"Fred," Velma whispered, "Don't, you'll just get yourself into trouble, please don't start a fight." She pleaded.

Fred tightened his grip even more, causing Daphne to cry out as she tried to pull away from him; towards Red. Fred looked down at her, loosening his grip on her arm. Red tugged her wrist once more, jerking her from Fred's grip completely.

"Come on Daph, we've got math now." Red smiled at Daphne, before leading her out of the crowd that had gathered. All Daphne could do was stumble after him, as she stared back at Fred, her eyes brimming with tears.

_Authors note: sorry for the short chapter, but I figured I'd write what happened after the lesson separately and save the conversation between Fred, Velma and Shaggy until the next chapter, when Daphne isn't in their class. _

_If you're reading this then please review, I need feedback so I know what you like or don't like ^-^_


	6. Lessons and Lunch

Velma sat in math, thinking over what had happened. She knew she needed to help her friend, but honestly had no idea how to do it. Tapping her pencil, she looked up, oblivious to the sums written on the board before her; all she could think about was what Daphne was doing just 2 doors away.

Jennifer, a short chubby girl with dirty blonde hair, turned to Velma, concerned that her friend seemed s distant this lesson. Usually Velma was the first to finish any work set in class, but now, she just didn't even seem to be attempting it.

"Velma?" Jennifer whispered "Are you okay?"

Velma looked up from her tapping pencil, brow furrowed. It took her a few seconds to register what had actually been said to her as she was pulled from her distant state and back into the reality of the classroom. "Y-yes I'm fine." She said simply, slightly taken back by the sudden question.

"You sure, you seem kind of, well, off." Jennifer whispered again, trying to avoid catching the attention of the teacher.

"Yes." Velma hissed, looking down once again. 'Gosh i must seem so ignorant' Velma thought, feeling slightly guilty at her short temper. However, she didn't feel able to say sorry right now, she had bigger problems to deal with.

Then, all of a sudden, it dawned on her. "Jinkies..." She said softly, soft enough that o one, not even Jennifer who was sat right next to her, could hear thoughts coming together.

At lunch, Velma hurried over to Shaggy, Fred and Scooby, who were sat at their usual table under the large oak tree. 'Looks like Shaggy got Scooby onsite again' Velma thought smiling, as she picked up her pace.

"Guys! Guys I know how we can help Daph!" She exclaimed as she reached them.

"What! Really?" Fred cried out, unable to control his excitement.

"Yes! Guys it's so simple but gosh it's _Brilliant!"_

"Like, come on Velms tell us!" Shaggy said eager to help his friend.

With that Velma began to explain her plan to the other members of Mystery Inc and their lovable companion as grins appeared on all their faces as Scooby wagged his tail...

Around the other side of the school, Daphne wasn't enjoying her lunch hour quite as much as her friends, in fact, she wasn't enjoying it at all. She was seated next to Red, his arm still trying to snake it's way around her waist, despite her protests. To make the matter worse, with them were Red's friends. She gritted her teeth as she heard his friends talking about her, talking about what they would _do _to her. They were trying to be quiet, well to a certain point, if they wanted her to hear something then she most definitely did.

At a table located _very _close to theirs, was a table of giggling girls all there to watch Red as he went about his usual business. This probably annoyed her more than Red's vulgar friends, she often heard smutty comments from boys when they saw her, but the things she heard some of these girls saying actually hurt her, a lot. They were jealous, jealous that she was sat with red instead of them. Occasionally it happened when she was with Fred, but this group of girls followed Red around like a bad smell.

She could hear them, bitching about her, saying things that weren't true, but some things they said _were_. These were the comments that really hurt her; she winced every time one of them mentioned how 'danger prone' she was or how much of a 'rich little brat' she is. She tried to ignore it, pretend that she didn't hear them, but she did, and no matter how much she tried to tell herself that she wasn't 'spoilt' or a 'brat' she couldn't help but think she was. These were the comments that had her on the verge of tears as she sat with people she despised, believing every comment she overheard.


	7. A Plan

Daphne started at the clock. 'Just one more minute' she thought, growing all the more restless in her seat. A single second seemed to take hours to pass as the clocks hand's steadily wore on. Then the bell rang.

Shooting up, Daphne grabbed her bag and darted towards the door, only to have a hand grip her arm once again and pull her back to her seat. She glared at Red; he'd been doing this sort of thing to her all day, never letting her out of his sight. It was driving her insane; she hated it when her friends followed her, never mind _Red Herring._

"Red," She muttered, her teeth gritted, "I need to go home."

"I know." He said simply picking up his books in his left hand, but still keeping Daphne secured in his right.

"Well can you let go?" She hissed. He looked up at her, a harsh stare cutting through her. "P-please?" She whispered, trying to sound innocent as she batted her eyelashes at him.

Red rolled his eyes, but let go. She rubbed her wrist, heart beating a little faster as she realised that such an effortless movement could hurt her as much as it did. "Can, can I go now?" She whispered softly, watching to see if anyone exiting the room had noticed his controlling actions, and her now bright pink wrist. There was one person who noticed; Fred. He was staring, fire in his eyes, teeth grinding.

"No." Red replied, seemingly uninterested in the blonde boy at the door.

"W-what?" She stammered, slightly taken back by his answer. "Well Red, I need to go home."

"I know." He said, standing up casually and slinging his rucksack over his shoulder. "Now you can go."

"Uh, okay." Daphne murmured, standing up as well. She picked up her bag and began walking towards the door...and Fred. She smiled at him and began to speed up a little. A few metres away from her blonde friend she felt something on the small of her back and squeaked slightly.

"Keep walking, don't let onto him." A voice hissed in her ear. She looked up to see a fierce looking Red staring daggers at Fred. He pushed Daphne along, placing another hand on her shoulder to stop her from walking too far ahead of him.

"Why don't you just leave her alone Red?" Fred growled as the pair passed him.

"I'm doing my job" Fred replied, voice just as intimidating as Fred's.

Daphne found herself growing nervous, they were arguing now, closing in on each other, ready to battle to the death. Her heart was pounding so hard that it was the only sound she could hear, the heated arguments of the teenage boys was muted as she started in fear, not for herself, but for Fred.

Red had a reputation for being one of the most violent boys to ever attend their school, and had the ability to put anyone who crossed him in hospital. 'That's why they wanted him' she thought 'That's why my parents hired him.' Terror struck her as Red raised his clenched fist, ready to strike Fred.

"No!" She cried out, desperately clinging to Red's arm.

"Wh-What are you _doing?" _Red gasped in disbelief.

"Red please, please don't hurt him." Daphne begged breathlessly.

"Why should I? I'm only doing my job and stopping this bastard from getting anywhere near you!" Red yelled at Daphne, his anger now turning to her.

"Red please." She said softly, looking him directly in the eyes. Tears began to fill her eyes as she looked up at him, hoping for this to work and for the two to stop fighting. And it worked.

"Oh Daph, I'm sorry." Red apologised, pulling her into a tight hug. She sighed, resting her head on her chest, just thankful that she'd managed to stop the two from starting a brawl in the classroom.

Daphne pulled away from Red, "Can I go now?" she murmured, voice croaky from her being on the verge of tears. Her answer was nothing more than a nod from Red, who then grinned at Fred before leading her out to the waiting limousine in the car park.

A sly grin appeared on Fred's face as he watched the two leave, then a soft chuckle parted his lips and drew the attention of two different people and their pet hiding in the janitor's closet.

"Well?" Velma grinned, sliding out of the closet along with shaggy and Scooby.

"It's in her bag." Fred smiled smugly.

"Like great!" Shaggy exclaimed, "see, like, nobody can split Mystery Inc. Up!"

All four grinned. "Now we just wait." Velma said. "What shall we do in the meantime?"

"Ro rhe ralt rhop." Scooby barked.

"Like yeah! To the malt shop!"

Daphne stepped out of the limousine as her new chauffer opened the door for her. "Thanks Mr..."

"Stevenson."

"Right, well thank you Mr. Stevenson." She said glumly.

He slammed the car door shut, making Daphne jump. "Ah, sorry Miss. Blake, I didn't mean to scare you like that." Mr. Stevenson sniggered. Something about him didn't feel quite right as he looked Daphne up and down before getting into the front of the limousine. For some reason, he creeped her out, more than some of the criminals they had faced. She didn't know what it was; maybe it was his leering eyes, crooked smile or maybe even his sneaky comments about her that no one ever seemed to notice. Whatever it was, Daphne didn't like it.

She entered the Blake mansion and headed straight upstairs, not even bothering to speak to her mother, and her father, well he was off on yet another business trip.

Collapsing onto her bad she let her bag fall to the floor, kicked her shoes off and just lay still for a while, savouring her time alone.

Hours passed before she moved, and that was only to go to the bathroom. On her return she noticed something on the floor, next to her bag. Curious, she picked the mysterious object and smiled. 'They always come through for me' she thought, smiling as she switched on the small mobile phone.

_Authors note: okay so now I've started the connection between Daphne and the rest of Mystery Inc. hopefully if you're reading this then you haven't lost interest cause things are just getting started ^-^ (err...I think .) so anyway I'm going to try and get this finished soon cause from now on I basically have it all planned out x3_

_So anyway PLEASE review if you're reading this, please, just let me know that someone is actually reading this and if your liking it or not ^-^_


	8. The Danger Prone Blakes

_Authors note: Sorry for the slow update but I've been busy xD so yes, hopefully faster updates now, and i hope you enjoy the rest of the story ^-^_

Daphne couldn't stop smiling as she gazed down at the small silver cell phone; Velma's old phone. She began to flick through the phone; it held various photos of the gang, Velma's favourite music, but most importantly, all of Velma's contacts. That meant that she could communicate with the gang, without her parents knowing.

A loud beeping from the phone startled the red head, as she found herself squealing quietly and almost falling of the bed. She sat still for moment, scared that her mother may have heard the phone. Then, she opened the text message. It was from a number that wasn't in Velma's contacts, and when she opened it, she knew why.

'_Daph, It's Velma, this is my new number. Me, shag and freddy are paying for credit so we can stay in touch. Xxx :)'_

Daphne grinned and began to text back...

The next morning Daphne bounded down the stairs, unfortunately straight into her mother who was about 4 steps from the bottom of the staircase. The two red headed women tumbled down the remaining stairs and hit the floor with a thud. Both groaned as they tried to stand, only for Daphne to make it to her feet then have her mother pull her back down again as she slipped once again.

A chuckle caused the two Blakes to look up from their current tangle. Daphne grimaced as she stared at Mr. Stevenson looked down at the pair. "Well, Well." He smiled "Look's like Mr. Blake wasn't exaggerating when he said how danger prone the Blakes were."

Mrs Blake giggled as Mr. Stevenson helped her up. "Well, to say I'm only Blake by name, I think that their genes have rubbed off on me." She commented smiling warmly.

Mr. Stevenson grinned; seemingly please by this comment, before he turned his attention to Daphne. "So, Miss Blake, are you ready to be taken to school?"

"Yeah I guess." Daphne muttered, brushing herself down.

Following Mr. Stevenson down the driveway, she began to smile. Even though she had a car ride with a creepy middle aged man and a day with Red Herring ahead, she knew that she still had her phone to speak to the gang.

"Have a good day honey!" Mrs. Blake called, waving at her daughter and she clambered into the limo, accidentally hitting her head as she did so.

"Wow, you really are danger prone" Mr. Stevenson noted, his smile resembling that of a maniacs, making Daphne feel uneasy.

"Tell me about it." She said bitterly, rubbing her forehead. She looked forward, toward the front seat where Mr. Stevenson was sitting. He was staring at her through the mirror; his beady eyes cutting through her, his toothy grin making the hairs stand up on the back of her neck.

Hiding her phone under her bag, she began to text Fred...


	9. The Boiler Room

Sauntering down the side walk Fred felt a small vibration in his pocket, followed by a short beep. He pulled out his phone and smiled, it was from Daphne.

'_Hey Freddy :) i'm on my way to skool, cya there, i'll try to get away from Red. Xxx' _

Fred broke into a run, sprinting to school, desperately trying to get there to see Daphne before Red could get to her.

He dashed through the gates, relieved to see that Red wasn't there, and Daphne had just arrived.

He watched her step out of the limousine, looking around, probably for him, then she paused, speaking to her chauffeur. He couldn't tell what they were saying, but he could tell from Daphne's facial expression that she was confused and a little distressed. He continued to watch as Daphne turned and wandered up the school steps, and still the chauffeur didn't take his eyes off her, as if observing her; And Fred didn't like it; he didn't like it at all.

He set off speed walking towards the school entrance, and hurried to Daphne's locker. She wasn't there. He searched for her, any place he thought she may be, he checked, but didn't find her. He looked at the clock, '_Still 25 minutes until homeroom' _He thought, determined to find her. That's when his phone began to beep again.

'_hey freddy, u in skool yet? meet me in the boiler room?" _

Not even bothering to answer, Fred turned on his heel and headed for the boiler room as fast as his feet would carry him. 

He burst into the boiler room, gasping for breath. "Daphne!" He Cried.

Daphne stepped out from behind a stack of boxes and grinned. Before Fred could utter a word Daphne pounced at him, her arms snaking their way around hid neck.

Pulling way a little, she looked up at him, "I've missed you so much." She said softly, then realising her mistake and corrected herself, "I uh...mean I miss all of you." she stammered, blushing.

"I've missed you too Daph." Fred teased, a smug expression on his face. He wrapped his arms around her waist and sighed, pulling her closer. Daphne returned his sigh, closing her eyes and rested her head oh his chest.

For a while that's all the two did, they just stood holding each other, enjoying the little time they had together. If one teen moved even slightly, the other tightened their grip, reluctant to let the other go. Daphne jumped as Fred raised his hand and began to gently stoke her hair, but quickly found herself enjoying it once she had gotten over the initial shock. The room was warm, a glow was visible from the boiler which for once, didn't seem to make much noise at all.

"Freddie?" She whispered meekly, her voice quivering a little.

"Hmm?" He simply answered, still stroking her auburn locks.

"Why do they do this to us?" She quizzed.

"Do what Daph?"

"Try to keep us all apart, if its not my parents its your's, if its not your's, its Velma's." Daphne said, sorrow drenching her words.

"I-I... I don't know." Fred admitted. He hated this, not knowing what to say or how to comfort the girl he cared for the most. He loved her, yet every time he decided to tell her, something happened, usually a maniac in a suit showed up trying to scare them off, but other times, it was something like this. It was rare that this happened, but when it did, it threw him off track for weeks. If he couldn't even comfort her now, then how could he possibly be good enough for her? Whenever faced with a problem like this he only seemed to make Daphne feel worse.

"Me either." Daphne mumbled, her tone flat and defeated.

The heat in the room was now becoming unbearable, the glow made the objects in the room seem distorted and warped as the boiler began to roar wildly; the room itself was beginning to resemble hell. Daphne pulled in closer, shivering despite the warmth in the room, fighting back the tears that were building up inside. Fred felt sick, seeing Daphne like this made him want to cry himself, which wasn't usual for a jock such as himself.

"I have to go."Daphne said suddenly, pushing Fred away and darting out of the room.

Fred considered running after her, stopping her, sweeping her off her feet and promising to take her away from her controlling parents. But he didn't. He couldn't. He wasn't Prince charming, Daphne wasn't some damsel waiting to be saved from the evil clutches of the villains she called family. Instead, he simply waited a minute or two and left the boiler room, heading out into the crowded corridoor filled with people he desperately wished weren't there.

_Authors note: okayy so this chapter seemed to take forever to write xD my word decided to be stupid and not accept my product key so I had to download open office instead which just annoyed me full stop ¬.¬_

_So anyway, thank you to all the people who have reviewed and i'm going to try and update a little more often now :D_

_don't forget to review this chapter please! Tell me what you think so far! ^_^_


	10. A Mytsery on their hands

The bell rang and Fred found himself wandering the corridoors alone. He couldn't think. Everything just seemed wrong, and he didn't know how to fix it. He sighed as he looked up at the clock, he was already 5 minutes late, but he just couldn't bring himself to see Red flirting with Daphne anymore. So until he felt he could gather the strength to see such a sickening sight, he decided to hide by the trees outside and think things over.

Daphne sat in a cubicle in the girls toilets, her knees pulled up to her chest as she sobbed uncontrollably. Her eyes were red and her throat was sore, but no matter how much she tried to calm down, she just couldn't. When she finally managed to stop herself from crying, she opened the cubicle door and walked over to the large, cracked mirror above the row of sinks. Wiping off the mascara that had run down her face, she picked up her bag and pulled out a small make-up bag. She began to reapply as she thought bout what to do next, she was 30 minutes to her next lesson, but didn't feel like going just yet.

15 minutes before the end of the lesson, Fred strolled into class. After a weak excuse of being at the doctors and a poorly written note, he sat down at his desk next to Shaggy.

"Like man, where have you _been_?" He whispered, "Velma got a phone call this morning, we've got a mystery to solve, we've been trying to call you all morning!"

"Oh, sorry I was busy." Fred said in a hushed voice.

"I, like, told Velms we'd talk about it after class"

"Right." He replied simply, glancing at anxious looking Velma at the front of he room, but Daphne, was no where to be seen.

The bell rang for 2nd lesson and the class packed up their things and left. Velma rushed up to Fred and Shaggy, excitement and curiosity written across her face.

"Guys!" she gasped, "We've got someone who wants to help us solve mystery for them!"

"Oh cool," Fred murmured, obviously not as excited as his small friend.

"It's the Wilsons, they said that they've seen someone sneaking around their house at night, apparently whoever has been sneaking about has been leaving some odd footprints."

"Like, w-what kind of footprints" Shaggy asked, growing wary of the new mystery.

"Glowing." Velma said, a strange smile creeping cross her face.

Upon hearing this, Fred found himself putting his problem of Daphne and Red to one side, as the mystery loving part of him started to take over.

"Okay gang," Fred smiled, "Tomorrow night, we're going over there to see what's really been happening."

The group turned to enter their next class, biology, still discussing what they were planning to do tomorrow night, when Fred turned and noticed a familiar face on the front row.

"Daphne." He breathed.

Looking up, Daphne simply blinked a few times before smiling warmly at him.

"Move it Jones!" A voice hissed as Fred felt something push him from behind. Then, Red emerged from behind him, ginning in triumph.

"Red Herring." Fred growled, eyes narrowing.

"I told you Jones, you're not to talk to her anymore." He sneered.

Clenching his fists, Fred grunted and walked past Daphne's desk.

Velma looked over at Daphne whose warm smile had now faded into a tearful gaze in Fred's direction. Red slid into the seat next to Daphne and put her arm across her shoulders, while Daphne bit her lip fighting back the urge to cry.

She felt a small nudge in her back and turned around to see Shaggy staring down at her.

"Just go,like, I think I know how we can help her." He said,his voice barely above a whisper as Velma just looked up at him, wondering what the lanky teen could possibly be planning.

_Authors note: okayy so thanks again to the people who have reviewed, I'm really enjoying writing this and I'm happy that people like it ^_^_

_the next chapter is partly written so that should be up sometime soon :D_

_please review and tell me what you think! ^_^_


	11. A Date?

Daphne shuddered, Red had his hand on her thigh, rubbing it gently. She stiffened as he leaned in closer. His lips pressed against her ear, his warm breath sending chills down her spine.

"I know you were skipping class this morning." He said softly.

"I-I...I don't know what you're talking about." Daphne said quickly.

"Don't play dumb." He whispered again. Daphne closed her eyes, but still remained still as Red prepared to speak once again. "Imagine what you're father would say if he found out you cut class."

Daphne's hand clenched into a fist, her breathing speeding up considerably as she turned to face Red. "P-please." Daphne whimpered, her voice soft like a child in trouble. She paused, "Please don't tell my parents...I-I'll do anything."

Red smirked at her, his arms snaking their way around her waist and pulling her closer to him. "Well I did have something in mind."

Daphne felt sick, from the way he was looking at her, she knew what he wanted. He flashed his dazzling smile at her, the same one that reduced most girls to giggling messes, even Daphne wasn't completely immune to his charm. She blushed lightly and lowered her gaze,determined not to let him see.

Red moved his hand, gently cupped her face and tilted her head so she was looking him directly in the eyes. Daphne found herself lost in them as she gulped. "I'll pick you up tonight at 8." Red ordered more than asked. He leaned in closer to her, leering, before letting go of her face and turning back around to face the professor.

"Okay." She mumbled softly. She couldn't protest, how could she? If she did then he'd tell her parents about her skipping class, then they might find out that she was with Fred. On top of that, Red had quite a temper and she didn't want to get on the wrong side of him like so many people had been unfortunate enough to do before.

From that point on the day just seemed to drag on for all of Mystery Inc. Daphne was growing wary of what Red had in store for her on their 'date'. All day Red seemed to have his arm around her, whispering things in her ear, things that made Daphne feel sick, things that made her skin crawl, things that she would never, ever repeat to anyone for as long as she lived.

Velma, Shaggy and Fred observed how uncomfortable Daphne appeared whenever Red leaned in close to her, noting how she tried to edge away but was always dragged right back to his side. Velma found that every time they saw this, Fred walked way, his teeth grinding in anger, whereas Shaggy stood awkwardly biting his lip until it was raw. Neither of the boys knew what Red was saying to her, both desperately wanted to, but didn't. Velma on the other hand, had a pretty good idea. She and Daphne knew each other inside out, they were best friends had had been inseparable for years, well, until now that is. She knew how Daphne reacted to different things, and she had been watching her very closely whenever Red spoke to her. Daphne always blushed ferociously, turned her head away and started to fidget, but her face was the real give away to what Red was saying, her face of pure and utter disgust.

When it was finally time for them to leave school for the day, Red walked Daphne to her limo, still whispering to her.

"Good afternoon Miss Blake." Mr. Stevenson greeted.

"Afternoon." Daphne muttered, obviously not in a good mood.

"And who is this handsome young man then?" Mr. Stevenson asked.

"This is R-"

"Red Herring, heir to the Herring Boating Company." Red interrupted proudly.

"Ahh I see, well good afternoon to you too Mr. Herring." Mr Stevenson said smiling madly, looking just as demented as usual, yet, slightly amused by Daphne's obvious dislike of this young man.

Daphne climbed into the limousine as Red said his goodbyes and closed the door behind her.

"Well, what a gentleman." Mr. Stevenson remarked, still smiling.

"If you say so." Daphne murmured.

"So, he's an heir aswell huh?" Mr. Stevenson asked as he started the limo.

"Yeah, I don't see why he has to brag about it though, his Father's company isn't very good." Daphne said softly.

"Oh, I see. And why would that be Miss. Blake?"

"They're a family of thugs who depend on brute force to sell anything." Daphne growled, her blood beginning to boil at just the thought of the Herring family.

"Ahh, so nothing like you danger prone Blakes?" He said winking.

"No." Daphne hissed, annoyed at his sly comments.

After about 10 minutes the limousine pulled into the Blake manor driveway, from this point it was another few minutes drive until they reached the front steps leading to the large oak doors.

Daphne stepped out of the limo as Mr. Stevenson opened the door for her, smiling, she thanked him and was about to walk away when he tapped her on the shoulder.

"Miss. Blake?"

"Yes?" Daphne said turning to face him, tilting her head to one side like a confused puppy.

"It is tomorrow you're Father returns from his business trip, isn't it?" He asked, an eager look in his eyes.

"Yes." Daphne said, "Why?"

Mr Stevenson paused briefly, then quickly said "I was just asking to see when I had to pick him up at the airport."

"Oh, alright." Daphne said, unsure of why Mr Stevenson would have to double check when her Father came home.

Daphne slowly sidled up the the steps and sighed as she remembered she had date, a date with Red Herring. She was about to continue her journey to the mansion when she noticed nearby security guard, Mr. Saunders if she remembered rightly, eyeing her up and down. Daphne looked back at him, but he didn't avert his gaze, instead he just stared into straight into her crystal blue eyes. Daphne couldn't take it, she turned away from him and practically ran up the steps and through the door, where unseen on the other side was her Mother, who she tumbled into.

"Daphne!" Her mother gasped from the marble floor as she looked across t her daughter who was sprawled out on the floor.

"Sorry Mother..." Daphne groaned as she sat up rubbing her knees.

"Wow, you really _are_ danger prone" laughed a low, gruff voice.

The two red heads looked up to see Mr. Saunders starring down at them, in a similar way to how Mr. Stevenson had looked at the pair earlier that morning.

Daphne shuddered and scrambled to her feet trying to regain her composure. Her mother just chuckled and stood up and brushed herself down.

Mrs. Blake turned to Daphne, "So dear," She said smiling warmly at her daughter despite the fact that she had just made them both fall, "Why the rush?"

Daphne froze. She couldn't tell her mother that Mr. Saunders had freaked her out, when he was stood right next to them. "I...Uh...have a date." Daphne stammered.

Her others smile turned into a shocked grin, happy that her daughter was finally getting over her crush on her blonde friend. "Really? With who?"

"Red Herring." Daphne replies, her voice barely above whisper.

_Authors note: Okayy so quite a long chapter here :D okayy so I think i've got this on track now and I know exactly where the story is heading ;)_

_so please review and tell me what you think of the chapter/story :3_


	12. A Mother's Concern

"You're going on a date with _Red?_" Mrs. Blake exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yeah." Daphne mumbled, lowering her head slightly.

"But, but I...I thought you didn't like him!" Her mother cried, her eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"Well I..." Daphne hesitated, "I changed my mind is all."

Her mother simply stared, mouth agape as she began to wonder if her daughter had completely lost her mind. "But you _hated _him just a few days ago!"

Daphne shrugged and headed for the staircase, still looking at the floor. As she reached the bottom her mother stopped her.

"Daphne honey, are you okay?" She said, concern in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm _fine." _

"Daphne sweetie look at me." She said lifting Daphne's head up by her chin. "Why in the world are you going on a hate with _him_?"

Daphne stared at her mother for a moment, she really was worried about her daughter. Her mother wasn't stupid, she knew what Red was like, she'd heard the rumours of what he had done to other girls and feared for her daughter.

"Well, hes been asking for a while so I thought I might aswell." Daphne lied.

"Right...well I'll be sending Mr. Stevenson to take you and pick you up okay, where is it that you are going honey?"

"I-I don't know." Daphne gasped, suddenly realising he had never told her where he was taking her.

"Okay well I'll find out when Red comes to pick you up okay? Mr. Stevenson will take you both there and bring you both back, then Red can go home from here." Mrs. Blake said, gently placing her hands on her daughter's shoulders.

With that Daphne nodded and turned to walk up the stirs. Mrs. Blake stepped back, frowning, with her arms folded and watched her daughter ascend the staircase. Mr. Saunders, who had been watching the whole scene, walked up behind Mrs. Blake and placed one of his huge hands on her dainty shoulder, making her jump.

"Sorry Mrs. Blake, didn't mean to scare you." He smiled, "Is everything alright?"

"No." Mrs. Blake said glumly. "I don't want her seeing Red, I don't like him." She paused. "I told George that we shouldn't have hired him to watch her at school, I never wanted him anywhere near and of my daughters. He's a thug like the rest of his family and George was an idiot for ever thinking he would be suitable for this job." She roared, anger boiling inside of her.

"Well, don't you think she could look after herself?" Mr. Saunders asked.

"No, no I don't" Mrs. Blake admitted sadly.

"Oh, well that's not very good." Mr. Saunders chuckled, a crazed look in his eyes that made Mrs. Blake feel uneasy.

Meanwhile, Daphne was upstairs, lay on her bed staring at the lilac ceiling. She still had a few hours before Red was due to arrive for their date, and she wanted to make each minute last, but the time seemed to fly by. Then, all of a sudden, she felt a vibration in her pocket. She shot up and whipped out her phone. "Hello?" She answered softly.

"Daph, Its Velma." Said a quiet, tinny voice on the other end of the phone. "There's something weird going on at the old Wilson place, we're going over there tomorrow to check it out, you in?"

"Uh Velma, incase you forgot I'm not supposed to see you guys anymore" Daphne sighed.

"I know," Velma replied, "We were thinking you could sneak out, we'll meet you there at midnight tomorrow?"

Daphne grinned, "I'm in."

"Great! So Daph...what was Red saying to you today?" Velma asked softly.

Daphne remained silent, she didn't expect Velma to ask that. "I...Uh..." She stammered, "I have a date with him tonight." She wasn't quite sure if Velma had heard her or not, as there was a deafening silence from the other end of the phone.

"_What?_" She finally spoke.

With that the two girls began continued their conversation as Daphne told Velma what had happened.

8 o'clock came and there was a loud tapping at the door. Mrs. Blake rose to her feet and gingerly opened the door. There, dressed in a black suit, stood RedHerring.

"Good evening Mrs. Blake, is Daphne here?" he said, flashing his white teeth at her.

"Yes, please come in Red." She growled through gritted teeth.

"Red walked past her and into the mansion "What a nice home you have." He said, noting the many shades of purple that inhabited the house.

"Thank you." She said as she walked towards him. He was taller than her by at lest 5 inches, even in her heels. However, this didn't faze her at all, she marched onwards until she was staring directly up into his eyes. "I know what you do on dated Red Herring." She growled, her voice low, "And I swear to God, if you dare touch Daphne, I will make you regret you were ever born." Fire was burning in her eyes as she glared up at him, grinding her teeth.

"Don't worry Mrs. Blake," He said smiling, "I'd never do anything to hurt your little princess."

She clenched her fists, her temper rising as she shot daggers at him, "I'll go get Daphne." She hissed before making her way up the stairs.

_Authors note: okayy, so I was going t include a little more for this chapter, but hey, I thought I'd leave you on a little cliffhanger for now while I get the next chapter written ;)_

_Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, I really appreciate it :) and lmao, no craponacrutch, Red is not going to be hit by a bus, but Fred shall get a hug at some point xD_


	13. The Date Begins

Mrs. Blake stood at the door of her daughter's bedroom. Resting her hand on the doorknob, she hesitated, biting her lip in anxiety. 'Should I just tell him she'd ill?' Mr. Blake thought, 'No, that may just cause more trouble, does she _really _like him?' She groaned, much like her daughter does, and rested her head on the cream door.

Inside she could hear the faint sound of someone crying. Sighing, she gingerly raised her hand, knocked and then opened the door slowly. "D-Daphne?" she said softly, as she started at her daughter sat on the bed, knees pulled up to her chest, her head resting on them, facing away from her mother.

"Mummy," Daphne whimpered in a hoarse,childlike voice, "Is Red here?"

Mrs. Blake frowned. 'Mummy? She only calls me that when something is wrong...or if she wants something.' She thought. "Honey," She said delicately, "Is everything all right?" Walking forward slowly, she gently sat on the bed beside Daphne and rubbed her back.

"I-I..." Daphne stammered, "...yes." She lied.

"Daphne honey, please, just tell me the truth, I hate seeing you like this. Why are you crying sweetie?" Mrs. Blake asked, massaging Daphne's shoulders gently as she spoke.

"Really mother I'm fine." Daphne muttered, wiping her eyes and smiling weakly. "I'm just...a little nervous, that's all."

"Daphne-"

"Mother really!" Daphne interrupted, raising her voice slightly. "It's just my first date with Red and I'm nervous!"

"Okay then sweetie" Mrs. Blake replied meekly, "Red is downstairs waiting for you," She said patting Daphne's shoulder softly, "I'll go make sure he's not robbed us." She growled under her breath."

"So?" Red said smiling devilishly as Mrs. Blake entered the hall.

"She'll be down in a moment." Mrs. Blake replied, eyeing Red coldly.

"Great."

"Where exactly are you taking her?" She asked, folding her arms cross her chest.

"We have dinner reservations for 8:30pm at the new 5 star restaurant in town." Red said smugly.

"I see, well Mr. Stevenson, our new chauffeur shall be taking you there and picking you both up." She paused, smiling inwardly as she savoured the look on Red's face. "He will be there to pick you up at 10, understand?"

"Of course Mrs. Blake." Red answered, glaring at her.

Before either could say more, footsteps were heard on the staircase. The two looked up to see Daphne stride down the stairs. She was wearing a purple dress which ended just above the knee; it was strapless, tight fitting and accentuated Daphne's curves perfectly. Her Auburn hair was left down, flowing down just past her shoulders in soft curls. She had plain, purple heels on, a lighter shade than her dress, matching her carefully chosen accessories well. She looked absolutely stunning.

Red's jaw dropped open; Daphne's mother grimaced. She didn't get dressed up like this for Red, she did it for herself; she wasn't going to degrade herself by not making an effort for a date, even if it was with Red.

"Woah, you look...woah..." Red gawped.

Daphne couldn't help but blush, she secretly loved making guys act goofy, she loved it more when it was Fred acting like hat around her. "Thank you."

"Ahh, are we ready to go?" Mr. Stevenson asked, walking in from outside.

"Yes," Mrs. Blake answered, "And Red, take care of her." She added sternly.

"Yes Mrs. Blake." Red mumbled, still staring at Daphne as he linked her arm and led her outside to the limo.

Once outside Red opened the limousine door for Daphne and climbed in after her, ogling her the whole time.

Mr. Stevenson started the limo and looked through the rear view mirror at the young couple. "Miss. Blake, you look beautiful tonight, Mr. Herring is a very lucky man."

Daphne began to shift uneasily closer to Red, she didn't feel comfortable with either, but there was something about Mr. Stevenson's' stare that made her feel safer with Red. Enjoying this, Red wrapped his arms around Daphne and leaned in closer to her, his dry lips brushing against her neck. Gasping slightly, Daphne tensed, but began giggling as his lips explored her throat. She felt him smile, and immediately pulled her head away, maybe she would be safer with Mr. Stevenson after all.

After a torturous drive that seemed to go on for hours, they arrived outside the restaurant. Gracefully, Daphne stepped out of the limo, thanking Mr. Stevenson for opening the door. Red suavely exited the limo, then proceeded to link Daphne's arm and lead her inside.

"We have reservations for two under Herring." Red spoke.

"Ah yes," The waiter spoke, "Right this way Sir; Madam."

They followed their waiter to their table, a round small one, with two chairs. The table cloth was white linen, upon the table lay the dinnerware and a single red rose in a glass vase.

Daphne was breathless, the restaurant was beautiful; she stood for a moment, simply admiring the sheer perfection of it all. Red smiled and pulled out the chair for her, motioning for her to sit down. She obliged and took a seat, thanking Red.

Taking a seat across the table, Red reached out and took Daphne's hand in his. He looked up and smiled at her, that smile that almost made up for Red's attitude. She smiled back, a nervous, uneasy smile as he gently rubbed her hand.

Leaning across the table Red lifted her hand close to his face. "Finally, we're together." He said in a soft, seductive voice, his eyes shining as he looked up t Daphne and kissed her hand ever so gently.

Daphne pulled her hand away quickly, however, no matter how much she tried not to, she blushed. Biting her lip, she glanced up at him. "Thanks." She mumbled.

"You look so cute when you do that." Red smiled, causing Daphne blushed again, her cheeks now bright pink. "Kiss me." He whispered, leaning in close and resting his hands one hers.

Daphne gasped, he was now moving in, his eyes closed, lips puckered, ready for Daphne to meet him half way. Her heart began pounding, her breathing speeding up considerably as she desperately tried to decide what to do. She forced herself forward and shut her eyes tight, her lips just inches from Red's...


	14. Mind Games

"Your menu's." A posh voice at the table said politely.

The two teenagers jumped apart. Red scratched the back of his head in embarrassment; Daphne's hands shot to her chest in surprise, her heart pounding faster than ever. She looked up at the waiter, almost collapsing in shock as she recognised those familiar blue eyes.

It was Fred. He was stood before her, in a disguise that only someone who knew the boy well could see through. He was dressed in black trousers, a white short sleeved shirt and a thin black tie. His blonde hair was hidden under a slick, black wig and his signature orange ascot was no where in sight.

Then he walked away silently, just leaving the pair with the menus. Daphne frowned in confusion, 'Was that really Freddy?' She thought. She was brought back to reality as Red thrust one of the menus into her arms and told her to choose something to order before the waiter came back.

Fred stepped into the kitchen, fists clenched, teeth gritted. "I hate seeing any girl being fooled by Red's 'nice guy' act, but _Daphne_, I just can't bear to see it."

"What do you mean, shes not really buying it is she?" Velma Gasped.

"She was about to kiss him." Fred growled.

"Like, what!" Shaggy cried out.

Fred looked at his two close friends, both in waiter and waitress disguises like him. Velma was wearing a long blonde wig tied in a pony tail; shaggy favouring a light red wig with a pair of thin rimmed glasses.

"She was leaning in to kiss him." Fred sighed, sitting down on some nearby boxes. "The only reason she didn't was because I interrupted them."

"Did they recognise you? Velma asked nervously.

"No." Fred muttered, before picking up a pen and pad and walking to the door, "I better go see what they want to order."

Velma waited for Fred to leave before turning to Shaggy, "You don't really think she likes Red do you?"

"No, no I don't." Shaggy said distantly, staring at the door Fred let swinging. "She's fallen for ,like, a lot of guys, I know she has, but she hates Red, she, like, really, really hates him."

"H-how do you know?" Velma murmured in a timid voice.

"I, like, just do okay Velms." Shaggy said in annoyance.

Velma started at him, she didn't ask again, if he didn't want to tell her it was fine with her, she trusted him. However, something about his reaction made her wonder just what was going through the cowardly teenagers mind. Could something have possibly happened between him and Daphne?

Daphne shifted uneasily now, she was certain it was Fred serving them, or maybe she just missed him so much she was imagining it. But then she looked across the room, and what she saw made her grin from ear to ear. To anyone else, the woman on the other side of the room was just a blonde waitress, but to Daphne, she was much, much, more. She was her hero, her saviour, her best friend in disguise.

"Uhh, Red." Daphne said innocently.

"Yeah babes." Red said smiling devilishly.

"I just have to pop to the ladies room, I'll be back in a moment." she said standing up.

"Alright, but don't be too long." He said grinning like and idiot as he ogled her, mouth hanging open slightly at the sight of her.

Daphne dashed over towards Velma, tapped her softly on the shoulder, and continued her walk to the ladies room. Once inside she began touching up her make-up, waiting anxiously for Velma.

At the table Red was growing impatient, their starters would be arriving soon and Daphne wasn't back. He looked at his watch, it had been around 5 minutes since she left the table. Tapping his foot he looked around for the waiter.

"Waiter!" Red called, raising his hand.

"Yes Sir?" Replied the red haired waiter.

"You haven't happened to have seen a girl in a purple dress and red hair have you?" Red asked nervously.

"Oh yes," Replied the disguised Shaggy, "She's a very beautiful young lady."

"I know," Red said grinning smugly, "but what I meant was have you seen her in the past few minutes?"

"No, Sir, very sorry Sir." Shaggy said but inside he was praying that Daphne had the sense to make a run for it when she had the chance.

Velma rushed into the kitchen and quickly pulled off her apron before shooting to the ladies bathroom. She opened the door and dashed inside, closing the door behind her. Standing by the row of sinks Daphne stood grinning.

"Velma, oh God what are you doing here!" Daphne gasped, pulling her friend into a warm embrace.

Velma chuckled softly, "Well, it seems as though Red didn't notice that this is yet another restaurant owned by the Rodgers family." She paused winking, "So It wasn't that hard to get in."

"Oh Velma, you guys never let me down." Daphne said, pulling Velma into a tighter hug.

"Umm, Daph?" Velma began nervously.

"Hmm?"

"You, you don't really like Red do you?"

Daphne gasped, pulling back she started at Velma in awe. "_W-what?"_ She cried, obviously offended by such an accusation.

"Well, just that Fred said that you two were, umm, about to kiss." Velma murmured.

Pouting, Daphne's eyes became fixed on the tiled floor. "Well, we _were _going to, I-I didn't want to, but I didn't know how to get out of it, then..." A soft blush appeared across Daphne's face as she smiled foolishly, "Then Freddy stopped us." She finished, her eyes glistening.

"Well, Freddy wasn't too pleased about it." Velma grumbled.

"Oh." Daphne mumbled, lowering her head in disappointment. "Well, I better get back, Red will be waiting for me, but Velma, please keep an eye on us." She paused sighing softly, "That kiss was far too close to happening."

"Okay Daph." Velma said reassuringly, patting Daphne gently on the shoulder.

"Thanks Vel." Daphne smiled. She then left the bathroom, hurrying back to her table.

At their table, Red looked annoyed, but relieved that she was still there and hadn't attempted to run off on him. She smiled at him, their starters had already arrived "Wow, those look great."

"Nice to know you came before they were cold." Raid spat, his eyes cold.

Daphne batted her eyelashes innocently, "Oh, sorry, I was just trying to look my best for you." She smiled sweetly.

They began their meal in an awkward silence. Red was still annoyed at Daphne for taking so long; Daphne was just too scared to cause any further annoyance to the short tempered teen. Red finished the starter within a few minutes and slammed his fork down onto the table making Daphne flinch. She still had more than half of her soup left, so she ignored Red's attention seeking and continues to delicately sip her soup. He stared at her, she didn't have to look up to know his eyes were on her. Growing nervous she glanced up, instantly regretting it as she found herself locked in his gaze, unable to escape.

"You have beautiful eyes." Red whispered smoothly.

"S-so do you." Daphne said dreamily. 'No! no Daph don't fall for it, its just what he wants!' She thought, terrified of getting mixed up in his little mind games.

"I know." He grinned, flashing that dazzling smile of his.

"Arrogant pig..." Daphne muttered.

"What was that?" Red said, still smiling.

"Uh... I said they're big! Yeah, your eyes." She said quickly, batting her long black lashes at him.

"I can think of something else thats big." He said winking at her. Daphne blinked, her mouth agape as she blushed. "Wanna see?" he grinned, leaning in close.

"Uhh...I...ummm...I-I...no." She stammered, lost in his deep brown eyes. They were so close now, just inches from each others faces as Daphne's cheeks turned a darker shade of red. Her mouth was still slightly open, her eyes locked on his. Seeing his opportunity, Red leaned in the extra distance and pressed his lips against hers. Her whole body became stiff, her eyes wide with shock as she tried to pull way, only to have Red place his hand on the back of her neck and pull her in closer. She had no defence at all, her mouth was already open when he kissed her, his tongue already invading her throat.

Then he pulled away. Letting go of her head he ran his hand along her shoulder and down her arm until he was gently holding her hand. His smile was almost mocking her for so foolishly leaving herself vulnerable, his eyes gazing into her own, his slightly curly hair falling perfectly onto his face. "So," He grinned, "what did you think of that?"

"I...uh...uhhh...wow." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. She couldn't speak, for such a low life piece of scum, Red wasn't actually too bad a kisser.

"Glad you liked it." He grinned, leaning in once more, his hand slowly creeping up her leg. Their lips were once again about to meet, and no matter how much Daphne's conscience told her not to, she leaned in aswell. 'Oh God, please someone help' she thought desperately, unable to pull away herself, 'Just stop, don't do this to yourself' she told herself over and over, but she knew it was too late, Red had done it, he'd got inside her head and somehow, made her fall head over heels for him.

Suddenly, Red cried out, jumping back and falling off his chair. Daphne stared gawping at the sight of Red Herring lay on the floor, and triumphant looking Velma stood over him holding a tray dripping with water.

"Oh sir!" She cried, "I'm ever so sorry!"

Red stood up, fury taking over. "Oh you will be!" He bellowed. "You think I'm going to stand for this! Don't you know who I am!" He panted, his nostrils flaring as her closed in on her.

"Red!" Daphne gasped, trying to turn his attention away from Velma.

Grumbling, Red gripped Daphne's arm and ragged her off the chair. "Come on we're leaving!" He turned back to Velma, "And this won't be the last you'll hear of me!" He yelled, before dragging a worried looking Daphne out of the restaurant and into the car park where a confused looking Mr. Stevenson was waiting.

"Done so soon?" He asked, smiling in amusement as he looked at Red's sopping wet hair.

_Authors note: heyy everyone, sorry for the wait but I've been extremely busy lately (mainly with halloween and woooo I got head girl at school ;)) ^-^ I've had half of this chapter written for a while, but I never got chance to finish it until now, so please, enjoy :)_


	15. Break down

Daphne bit her lip, she couldn't help but giggle each time she glanced at Red, each time receiving daggers from the sopping wet boy. She could sense his anger was rising, but so long as Mr. Stevenson was in the car with them, he wouldn't dare say anything threatening, let alone actually hurt her, despite his obvious want to.

"So," Daphne smirked, "looks like we didn't get to finish our date."

Red forced a smile and muttered through gritted teeth, "Well, we'll just have to finish it another time I guess." She could see the anger burning in his eyes, the frustration setting in as his fingers curled like claws. His hair was sticking to his face, yet his lips stayed put in that demonic, twisted smile. Daphne suddenly began to feel nervous, Red scared her much more than a lot of the ghosts and ghouls that she had spent many sleepless nights chasing with the rest of the gang, and feared what he may do if Mr. Stevenson wasn't there.

"You look like a drowned rat." She laughed, refusing to miss the golden opportunity to mock Red, despite the fact that he would surely make her regret it the following day. Yet, at this moment in time, she didn't care about the consequences, she just wanted Red to know what it was like to be made a fool of, to give him a taste of what he'd been dishing out for years. "Either that or you've had a little accident." She added, pointing to his trousers, still giggling.

A gruff laugh was heard from the front seats of the limousine; Mr. Stevenson found this amusing even if Red didn't. Right now, Red uttered a loud, forced chuckle. Daphne couldn't actually recall a time when she had seen Red this angry, yet for some reason, it amused her; maybe it was because she'd never spoken to someone she was scared of in this way, or maybe it was because at this moment in time, she was untouchable, or maybe it was simply Red's reaction. One thing was for sure though, she loved making him feel as small as he had made her feel.

The limo came to an abrupt stop; they had arrived back at black manor. Daphne watched Mr. Stevenson step out of the limo, ready to open the door for her. Quickly, she reached out for the handle on the car door, hoping to get out before Red Found out they were alone for a few minutes. But it was too late. Red was already closing in on her, ready to pounce on his prey. Gripping her arm like a vice, he carelessly ragged her closer to him, his teeth bared.

"You shouldn't have said those things to me Daphy..." He growled, pausing to hear her her trembled exhale, "It was rather _daft _of you." He said smiling at his small play on words. Daphne winced.

"Red, I..." She looked at him and saw his menacing smile, then immediately closed her eyes, unable to look into his wild eyes. "I'm so sorry...Please..." She whimpered.

"Oh, you will be, nobody makes a fool of Red Herring." He muttered, his lips pressed against her ear.

Instantly regretting what she had done, she tried to apologise again and again, but Red refused to listen and only smiled at her. "Red, please I-" She was cut of by a finger pressed to hep lips. He slowly loosened his grip, his smile fading into a small smirk.

After what seemed an eternity Mr. Stevenson opened the door. Daphne stepped out gracefully into the cool night air, trying not to seem too shaken up by what had just happened even though her legs felt like jelly. Red followed her and snaked his hand around her waist, smiling innocently at Mr. Stevenson.

Daphne walked up to the mansion, holding onto Red's arm for support as she felt she was going to collapse any minute. As they ascended the small stone steps in front of the mansion, Daphne looked at anything other than Red, noting the flower bed full of purple flowers that her mother had put in few days ago. Her eyes followed trail of soil that ran from the flowerbed to the steps and then up them 'hmmm, thats odd' Daphne thought, still not taking her eyes off the dirt. The trail soon ended at a pair of shiny black boots.

"Good evening Miss. Blake."

Daphne's head shot up from the shoes to see a tall, broad shouldered man, resembling Mr. Saunders, but there was one clear difference; this man had a large scar across his eye and on his cheek. He was holding a small shovel and had muddy hands, yet despite his scar, he had the exact same look on his face as Mr. Saunders. "G-good evening." She murmured.

He grinned, "Your mother asked me to plant one of those flowers for her, it seems that the gardener forgot one." He said smiling, staring directly into Daphne's eyes and blanking Red completely. Daphne just looked up at him blankly, not sure what to say to this strange man. "Oh, I am sorry Miss. Blake, I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting you yet. I am Mr. Sanderson, Mr Saunders and I are cousins." He smiled, reaching out to shake her hand,reluctantly, she took it. "You're Father hired me, I work the night shift."

"Oh, nice to meet you." She said politely.

Mr. Sanderson turned his attention to Red, "What happened to you lad?"

"Oh, some waitress spilled some water on me." Red muttered.

"Ahh, well I don't think Mrs. Blake would appreciate you messing up the floor in the hall, I can take Miss. Blake here inside." He said sternly, and for once, Red didn't argue, he just nodded and kissed Daphne on the cheek before walking back down the steps towards his car.

Watching him drive away in his red Jeep, Daphne felt sick. He was still mad at her. She turned away and staggered up to the mansion doors, ignoring Mr. Sanderson who was once again staring at her in the same way Mr. Saunders did.

Entering the hall, she almost walked right into her Mother for the third time that day, but managed to avoid it. "Oh, hello Mother." She said sweetly.

"Daphne!" Her Mother gasped, "Whatever had happened to your arm young lady!"

"Wha- uh...oh..." Daphne mumbled, realising that her arm was still bright red from where Red had been holding her.

"Well!" Her Mother demanded.

"I fell and Red caught me by the arm." Daphne lied quickly.

Her Mother's lip curled into frown, "_He _did this to you?" She grabbed Daphne's arm and pulled it close to her face inspecting the large red mark. "He did it on purpose." She stated.

"What? No, it was an accident, it was my fault!" Daphne protested.

"Daphne do not lie to me! Please okay, you can tell me honey...I'm worried about you." Mrs. Blake said softly.

Daphne's arm fell limp in her Mother's. Her gaze fell to the floor, tears filling up her blue orbs. She parted her quivering lips "M-mummy..." She whimpered, before she broke down sobbing in her Mother's arms.

With wide eyes her Mother listened intently to Daphne's soft cries about everything that had happened that night, the day before, and how she missed her friends so much. Her moth simply cradled her, stroking her red hair and thinking of some way to fix this problem without getting on the wrong side of her husband, or the Herring family for that matter.

_Author's Note: okayy so I will try and update this story more often, but I have exams soon so I will be caught up in revision a lot during half term so updates could be slow. Haha sorry I just HAD to make Red's car red :) and theres a line in here from the story 'Flight', one of the short stories I am studying I my literature GCSE course, can anybody spot it? ;)_

_anyway please review and tell me what you think of this chapter/story :)_


	16. sleepless nights

Daphne was up early the next morning. A restless night meant that she hardly got any sleep as every time she closed her eyes, she dreamt of Red Herring. The thought of what he may do to her never left her mind; he was out for revenge, that part was simple, but what exactly was he planning? Would it be physical, or emotional? Daphne honestly feared the emotional torment more than the physical, and unfortunately for her, Red knew exactly how to get to her.

Heaving herself out from underneath her crumpled bed sheets, she groaned and dragged her exhausted body over to the large vanity mirror in the corner. She looked a mess, she'd never actually bothered to have a shower after her date with Red, and now she felt horrible. She needed a shower as soon as possible to try and wash way the thought of Red.

Sighing with relief, Daphne let the warm water run down her body as she leaned against the tiled wall of the shower. She remained still, savouring this peaceful moment as the water continued to cover her. But it didn't last. A timid knock at the door harshly ragged her back to reality, as she slipped, pulling the shower curtain down with her as she landed with a thud on the bathroom floor. Mumbling curses she stood up and wrapped a deep purple towel around herself.

Almost ripping the door of it's hinges Daphne's face was like thunder, this day hadn't started out too well so far. She looked up, spotting the culprit that had caused her such an ungraceful fall. Mrs. Blake stood still, staring at her dripping wet daughter, "Daphne please get dressed, I need to speak to you." With that she scurried off down the hall and down the staircase.

Around half an hour later Daphne was ready; her hair flowing past her shoulders in a purple headband, her eyes outlined perfectly in ebony eye liner and a subtle hint of pink on her ever so pale cheeks. Daphne had always been pale, she tried to tan, but it never seemed to work, she'd only burn, but that was expected when you took her hair colour into account. Yet, despite her milky complexion, she never looked ill, it just seemed to make her all the more beautiful; almost like a little china doll.

She met her Mother downstairs, dragging her school bag along the floor, too wrapped up in her own problems to worry about the purple designer bag being destroyed by the burgundy carpet beneath her feet. The carpet tore into the soft material of the bag ever so easily, leaving bits of purple scattered across the hall. 'Damn,' Daphne thought, 'Mums going to kill me for this...well, that's if Red doesn't get me first.' She shuddered.

Turning into the living room, She slouched into a cushioned chair, waiting for her Mother to come and tell her whatever she wanted to say before. As if on cue, Mrs. Blake walked into the room, "Daphne dear." She said to Daphne, who immediately jumped at her Mother's voice, fearing that she had spotted the purple mess on the carpet. "I've spoken to your Father," She said softly, sitting down on the arm of the chair and taking her Daughter's hands in hers. "I told him what you told me sweetie, he wasn't pleased at all with the way Red has been treating you, and thank God he's seen sense, so Red will no longer be your escort around school."

Daphne froze. No more Red. No more Bullying. No more torment. No. It was far too simple,something else had to be going on, they wouldn't just leave her alone, well at least her Father wouldn't. He had something else up his sleeve, she could tell from her Mothers sombre expression as she gazed down at her. "Then, whose..."

"Velma." Her Mother said, smiling warmly at her Daughter. "I managed to talk your Father into letting you see Velma, after all, that girl did always have a positive effect on your grades." She said winking.

"R-really!" Daphne gasped, not sure if this was some cruel, cruel joke or not, but something in her Mother's face told her it wasn't. She was really going back to the gang!

But she was wrong. "However, your Father still orders that you do not, under any circumstances, speak to Frederick or Norville, Just Velma." Mrs. Blake said strictly, but her eyes showed sympathy for the young red head. "And your Father also made it clear that you are not to become involved in anymore of these mysteries."

Daphne's heart sank. She knew it was too good to be true. "Right." She mumbled, "No Freddie, no Shaggy, no mysteries."

"Oh Daphne hunny, please try not to sound too glum. I know that you want to see your other friends, but you know how your Father can be, we just need to take things one step at a time."

Daphne opened her mouth to speak, but didn't get chance as Mr. Stevenson walked into the room. "Ah, Miss. Blake, Mrs. Blake, good morning to you both." He greeted, his grin seemingly wider than usual.

"Good morning." Mrs. Blake smiled back, while Daphne sank back into the chair.

"Mr. Blake shall be arriving home today I believe, what time is he due at the airport?" His grin ws now splitting his face in two as his eyes grew wider.

"Once you have dropped Daphne off at school, please set off to the airport, his plane lands at around 10am." Mrs. Blake replied.

"Very well then, Miss. Blake, are you ready?"

"Yeah I guess..." Daphne muttered, rising from the purple arm chair and strolling to the awaiting limousine. Mr. Stevenson followed, walking close behind Daphne, his eyes burning into the back of her head.

Velma could hardly contain her excitement, finally she could speak to her best friend without having to hide it. She was early as usual, so the school grounds were almost deserted. Normally, she'd be hidden away in the library among the vast mountains of books, but today, she was far too excited. Mrs. Blake had phoned her the night before and explained everything to her, now she couldn't wait for Daphne to arrive. However, for the young bespectacled woman, the wait seemed to go on forever. Various students passed her, cars arrived and the time passed by, yet still no sign of the familiar red head.

Unable to wait any longer, Velma pulled out her phone, her impatience taking over. Just as she was about to call Daphne, a long black limousine pulled up beside her. Before Mr. Stevenson even had chance to get out of the driver's seat, Daphne was skipping over to her best friend, a smile dancing across her face.

"Velma!" She cried, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Oh Daph, it's so good to finally be able to talk to you like this!" Velma grinned.

Both girls squealed and turned to walk into the school, only to be stopped dead in their tracks. It was Red, waiting for them to walk over, waiting for them to dare approach him, waiting for them to meet their doom.

_Authors note: okay here's the next chapter, please don't forget to review! :D_

_I kind of went into more detail than I planned to in this, so there isn't much action in this chapter, but I'm planning a lot more for the following chapters ;D_

_I'm really not sure how long this story is going to end up, but I will be turning it into a series, and I do know how its going to end, and what's happening in the following story, so please, review and tell me what you think :)_

_And yes, Daphne's mum is going to be nice, it's going to be her dad that's the strict mean one ;)_


	17. A Warning

Staring straight ahead, Daphne gazed at the sight that terrified her more than anything; Red Herring and his cronies, sat by the school entrance, waiting like the hungry vultures they were. Velma looked up Daphne and grimaced, she was frozen on the spot, her only movement the petrified trembling that refused to be stopped.

"D-Daph?" Velma practically whispered, also finding herself intimidated by the gang.

Daphne's mouth opened and closed, then opened, then closed once more. She was speechless, the words were there but she couldn't get them out, at the most she could only manage a small squeak. Opening her mouth once again, the words still unable to form, she began to resemble a fish, and oh God, was she out of water.

Stomach churning, Daphne's shaky hand gripped Velma's forearm. "Daph come on, we'll go through the other entrance." Velma whispered, trying to pull the tall red head along with her. However, after just a few steps, Velma noticed the majority of the group stand up and walk away; to the other entrance. "Oh jinkies," She grumbled, "Okay Daph, your call."

Daphne felt her heart begin to pound, hearing nothing other than the blood beat like a kick drum in her ears. Either way it would be trouble, going to the back entrance would be pure hell. Walking through most of Red's so called 'friends' while being ridiculed, taunted and possibly groped by the more daring ones. It had happened with them before, they were like animals, they would follow her, like they always did, the only reason they ever stopped was if Red told them to, and in this case, he wasn't there to say anything. Instead he was at the main entrance, with 3 of his 'close friends' and would probably pull similar stunts to that of his cronies.

Neither way seemed very inviting at the moment, but she would have to choose one soon, before they got tired of waiting and the entire group would surround them. "That way." Daphne muttered, pointing towards Red.

"Daph, are you sure." Velma said softly, looking up at her best friend. In response she got an uncertain nod of the head. Velma could see the pure fear etched into Daphne's eyes as they advanced on the school; she was holding her stomach and biting her lip, the probability of vomiting or perhaps fainting becoming much more likely.

"Oh look who it is guys," Red taunted, "It's that stuck up ginger chick, you know, the one that thinks she's too good for us."

Daphne kept walking, her eyes on the floor, the urge to cry becoming almost overwhelming. Stopping in her tracks, she saw a pair of shoes in front of her. Looking up slowly she found herself face to face with Red.

"What, I don't even get a 'Hello'? Well I shouldn't have thought so, after all, you are a good for nothing Blake." He hissed.

Panic was inevitable now, she was trembling, her eyes searching for something other to look at but unable to find anything other than Red. He reached out, forcing a small scream from Daphne as he pulled her close to him by her waist.

"You're all slags." He growled, "You, your mum, your sisters, you're all little sluts aren't you?" He paused, waiting for an answer to twist, but didn't receive one, instead Daphne just struggled in his grasp, beginning to hyperventilate.

"Red, let her go!" Velma cried, desperately tugging his arms, trying to make him let go.

"Shut the hell up you little geek! Your no better than this little slut!" Red roared back.

"Red Herring!" Called a stern, feminine voice. "You let that girl go this instant!"

Pushing Daphne to the side carelessly, Red straightened up and put on his best smile. "Oh Mrs. Mason! How are you?"

"Don't play those games with me Red, I saw _and _heard what you were doing to Daphne, and I will not stand for this sort of behaviour, get inside and get to your home room now!"

"Y-yes, Mrs!" Red stammered, dashing inside with his friends.

Mrs. Mason turned to Velma, "Sweetie are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine," Velma said breathlessly, "But I don't think Daphne is."

Daphne was sat on the floor, leaning against a cold stone wall, her knees pulled in close to her chest, her arms wrapped around them defensively.

"Oh Daphne, come on we better get you inside." Mrs. Mason whispered soothingly.

Inside Mrs. Masons room, it was warm, bright colours decorated the dull walls and various posters were dotted about the room. Daphne sat at a desk towards the back of the room, her head in her hands as she tried to refrain from sobbing right there. She had a lucky escape back then, but it was highly unlikely that she'd get way that easily again. Velma stood behind, rubbing Daphne's back softly, unable to think of any way she could help her.

"Daphne, your mother has been in contact with the school, if Red ever gets to close to you, someone will be there to stop it." Mrs. Mason looked down at Daphne's bowed head and sighed. Pulling a chair up to the desk she sat down, her long blonde hair falling down onto her soft cheeks. "I know what Red can be like," She said quietly, making it hard for Velma to hear, "I've had my fair share of trouble with him."

Daphne looked up, her blue eyes brimming with unshed tears. "W-what?" She sniffed.

Leaning in closer, Mrs. Mason looked away, avoiding eye contact with the teenager before her. "Daphne, I...I also had a similar problem with Red. Awhile back, he developed a crush on me, and well, it didn't go so well. He started to threaten me, on occasions he would...uh..." she paused, her cheeks turning a dark shade of crimson, "Well he tried to attack me...sexually."

Stunned, Daphne stared in awe. How could she have never noticed this, she could remember now, a time when Mrs. Mason was ever so timid around Red, caving into him and letting him off with 'warnings'. She looked up at the the embarrassed English teacher; no wonder he targeted her, she had long blonde hair, wide, hazel eyes, flawless skin and a figure most girls could only dream of having; she was more like a model than a teacher.

"At first I was too scared to tell anyone, I knew about Red's reputation, but I couldn't keep it in any longer. In the end he was never properly punished, as you probably know he has a way of worming his way out of situations like this, he got excluded, but not for long, soon he was back, and that's when my husband stepped in."

Mrs. Mason stopped talking, she leaned back in her chair, lost in her own thoughts, she bit her lip, in a similar way that Daphne does, and ran her hands though her golden locks.

"Wh-what happened then?" Daphne whispered, scared of breaking the deafening silence that had engulfed the room.

"My husband was put in hospital, and Red finally stopped." She said, still in a trance like state.

Daphne felt sick once again, the Herring family had a talent of doing that, putting people in hospital, yet they always got away with it. Velma didn't quite catch most of the conversation, and felt left out.

"I-is he okay now?" Daphne said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Slight brain damage," Mrs. Mason whispered, "He was one of the lucky ones I think, other people have ended up in a much worse state." She paused, her breathing now shaky, her eyes holding back the tears that were trying to escape. "Daphne, please be careful when dealing with this, we can only help you so much at school, but please beware; the Herrings won't just be after you, they target the ones you love, that's how they make you suffer, it hurts much more, trust me."

Chills were sent up Daphne's spine, the hairs on the back of her neck now stood up on end. She had heard rumours about the Herrings, but never a first hand account like this one; they were monsters. She was lost for words, unable to speak as Velma just stared unknowingly t the pair. Then Mrs. Mason rose from the chair, ignoring the lump in her throat. "Girls you better get to class, you've already missed home room, just tell them you were with me, it'll be fine." She murmured as she left the room.

Slowly standing, Daphne glanced at Velma, then at the door, "Come on, we need to get to class."

"Daphne," Velma said, her voice grave, "What did she say? What did she tell you?"

Daphne looked at the concern in her friend's eyes, "Just something I wish she didn't." Daphne muttered. In reality she was grateful for the warning, but it terrified her knowing what the Herring family were really capable of.

"Okay." Velma mumbled, making a mental note to remember this at another time. But for now, they had chemistry, and as they walked into the room, Daphne heart sank. At the front of the class stood a supply teacher, and because of this everyone had changed seats, leaving the only free desk in front of the devil himself...

_Authors note: okayy everyone, I was hoping to get this done soon, but I've been a little slow on writing and now even if I do get the story finished, I'll have trouble uploading it for now as my internet connection is being mean :c My laptop is just point black refusing to connect to any wireless internet and that means I have to use the computer downstairs, which I will not have much access to D:_

_sorry for any delays, but please, reviews are always appreciated! :D _


	18. Threats

_Authors Note: heyy sorry, laptops been misbehaving a lot lately so I had to get it repaired so I didn't have it for a few days and was therefore set back on my writing, but I'm going to try and catch up now xD_

_Anyway, thank you again to my regular reviewers, you lot do make me giggle, and a big thank you to the people who nominated me in XxLadyStenghthxX and AudreyMetalMouth's 'Scooby Doo FanFiction Awards' I really appreciate that, thank you so much! :D_

Daphne felt nauseous. A lump was stuck in her throat as she stared at the handsome young man, whose face had turned into a look of sadistic delight as he gazed upon his prey. No one else seemed to notice, it was as if she had never even entered the room, everyone was still wrapped up in their own conversations as the supply teacher unsuccessfully tried to control the wild animals that the classroom inhabited.

"Girls," The short, balding supply meekly called out to them, his pot belly threatening to burst the buttons on his shirt. "Could you please sit down?"

Daphne remained glued to the spot, her legs refusing to oblige to the teacher's request. Velma prodded her in the side, being her well mannered self, she didn't want to cause the small teacher any more trouble, but feared for Daphne's well being. Slowly Daphne took a small step forward, then another awkward step, and another, until soon she was daringly moving closer to the boy she feared. Velma followed, her gaze never leaving Daphne's petrified expression as she braved her way through the class. She looked around quickly, searching for Fred or Shaggy, but neither were in sight.

Sliding into the seat in front of Red, Daphne dropped her bag and sat staring at the desk, her hands gently resting in her lap, desperately hoping Red wouldn't try anything. Velma quickly jumped into the seat next to her, her own heart pounding almost as hard ad Daphne's.

"Hey there Daffy." She heard his hushed tone, but it was close. "You're getting brave eh? Coming sitting right in front of me, it's almost like you miss me." She could feel his eyes burning into her back, his smirk etched into her mind.

"Miss you? You must been brain damaged Red, I'd rather stick pins in my eyes than spend time with a rat like you." Daphne growled back, her voice low, but she still didn't turn to face him.

"Oh that's a nice thought, maybe I could arrange it?" He smiled.

Velma gasped, 'Why the hell is she answering him?' she thought. "Daph..."

"Shut it specky!" Red interrupted. He leaned closer over the desk, so that his head was just beside Daphnes, his lips close to her ear. "You're gonna pay for what you did you know," He muttered in a soft voice that no one else could hear. "All of you."

"W-what?" Daphne whimpered, unable to control her fear.

"Your Mother fired ma Daffy, because of you, and your Father agreed it was a good idea. That was a sweet job I had, guarding you, keeping you all to myself, but I lost it Daffy." He paused, letting this information sink into the terrified red head. "Now you're all going to pay for it, I've told my Dad, Daffy, we're gonna get you, your Mum and your Dad, why, we may even get your sisters, just to really make you miserable." There was an amused tone to his voice, his warm breath sent chills down Daphne's spine, his presence paralysed her.

After that, Red left her alone for the rest of the day, barely acknowledged her, just the occasional glare that made her fell about 10cm tall. That was probably the worst thing, a straight out threat, then nothing, it just made her think about the threat more, his words stuck on repeat in her mind. Daphne barely spoke since the threat, only really answered her name in the register, but other than that it was just a nod, a shake of the head or a shrug of her shoulders to any questions asked.

It was last lesson now, just 20 minutes until the end of the lesson. Daphne bit her lip, willing the time to pass faster so she could rush home, just to check f her parents were safe and that the Herrings hadn't got to them.

"Daph," Velma said, snapping Daphne out of her zoned out state. "Freddie just text me, he said we should meet at the Wilson's place at 10pm instead of midnight, is that okay with you?"

Blinking, Daphne stared blankly at the small brunette, her mind trying to grasp the situation. After a few seconds, it came to her, the mystery at the Wilson place, the glowing footprints. "Oh...oh yeah that's fine." Daphne mumbled, her mind still fuzzy.

"Okay, I'll just tell Fred that's fine." Velma grinned, pulling out her phone and pressing the buttons faster than Shaggy when he sees and all you can eat buffet.

The remaining time was agonising, Daphne just wanted to get home and relax before she met the gang...the gang! Oh and a mystery! She remembered what her Mother had said to her, no Fred, Shaggy or mysteries. Chewing her lip, she thought of what to do, sneak out and meet the gang, risking the punishment her Father would surely give her if her found out, or just tell Velma she couldn't go. 'No' She though, 'I'm going whether they like it or not.'

The bell rang suddenly, Daphne was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she had lost track of time. Ignoring Velma, she jumped up, grabbed her back and ran for the limo, desperately trying to avoid meeting Red on the way. As she stepped outside, she noticed that she was one of the first out, and spotted Mr. Stevenson waiting for her, a smile on his face. Hurrying forward, she clambered into the limousine and sighed with relief, finally she felt safe, oh wait, Mr. Stevenson was still there, maybe not so safe so long as that mad smile was plastered across his face.

"Rough day?" He asked, starting the limo.

"You could say that." She muttered.

"Ah, well I picked up your Father today, he can't wait to see you." He grinned, his teeth crooked and his eyes wild. Daphne felt uncomfortable again, his eyes seemed to be on her for most of the journey instead of the road. He seemed to be analysing her, his eyes scanning every inch of her body.

"Miss. Blake."

"Hmm?" Daphne replied, trying to avoid eye contact with the insane looking man.

"I just need to call into a hardware store, it seems we have run out of rope at the mansion and we must get some more." He said.

"Oh, uh okay." She said, confused. "What do you need rope for?" She asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Oh. Some project in the garden your Mother has Mr. Sanderson working on." She said quickly.

"Oh well that I can believe." Daphne mumbled, wondering what her Mother's crazed imagination had come up with this time.

It took them around an hour to get home, at some point Daphne tried to block out Mr. Stevenson by putting in her headphones, but he kept interrupting her with seemingly pointless questions about her parents.

Relief flooded her body as she finally exited the limo, 'Finally a little relaxation' she thought. Wandering up to the house slowly she opened the doors to reveal a very quiet home. 'That's odd' She though, 'Usually when Dad's home you can hear him a mile off.'

"Mum?" She called out, an uneasy feeling creeping up on her. She heard quiet shuffling sounds from the living room, so she decided to check it out.

"Mum, you in he-" She stopped dead in her tracks, her heart rising into her throat as looked down at her parents. Both of them, Mother and Father, were both lay on the floor, rope biding their limbs together in an inescapable bond and they wriggled around, crying out into their cloth gags. Next to the, on the small sofa and arm chair set, sat Mr. Saunders and Mr. Sanderson, smug expressions covering their faces.

"Hello there Daphne." Mr Saunders smiled.

"So nice of you to join us." Mr Sanderson grinned.

Searching for words Daphne stared silently, mouth open wide as she looked upon the scene before her in disbelief. Her attention was then turned to her Mother, who had managed to spit out the make shift gag, which was now loosely hanging around her neck.

"Daphne run!" She cried, her voice hoarse.

Daphne didn't have to be told twice, she did as she was told, quickly turning on her heel to run back out of the house, and as far away as she possibly could. However, something was blocking the door; well, _someone _was blocking the door.

Before her stood Mr. Stevenson, looking triumphant, clutching a coil of rope in his hands...


	19. Help!

Daphne stood still, frozen with fear as her wide eyes fixated on the coils of rope before her eyes. She didn't know what was going on, she didn't know why this was happening, but she did know one thing, she had to get out of there as fast as she could. Mr. Stevenson lunged forward, moving much faster than Daphne had expected a man of his age to. He gripped her arms, holding her tight in his grasp, smiling that crazed smile of his.

Everything was a blur from there, nothing seemed real, only her Mother's desperate cries urged her into what she did next. Lifting her leg high, her aim perfect, her knee hit Mr. Stevenson between the legs, causing him to cry out and let go of the red head before falling to the floor clutching his groin.

Leaping over the man on the floor, she had a clean path to the door to make an escape, but she didn't have much time as Mr. Stevenson had began shouting orders for the other two men to catch her. Her heart was beating a million miles per hour, they were already on her tail, the footsteps becoming louder and louder.

She sprinted outside, the cold air hitting her as she dashed towards a small shed further down the vast garden. Ducking behind the shed, she watched them run past her, towards a small black car with tinted windows. Once they had past she crept into the shed, her heart still pounding, and shakily wiped a layer of dust off a metallic purple bike...

Mr. Stevenson heaved himself up, his face sill showing obvious signs pain. He was clinging onto the fireplace to keep himself steady, his teeth grinding. "Oh just wait until I get my hands on that little cow!" He roared, "She's gonna pay for this!"

"Don't you dare hurt her!" Mrs. Blake cried.

"Oh, I'm gonna do a lot worse to that little bitch when I get hold of her!" He growled, turning to face his prisoners.

"You'll _never _get your hands on her, and God help you if you do because I will personally make sure that you end up six feet under." Mrs. Blake hissed, her eyes blazing.

He leaned in close to Mrs. Blake, gripping the ropes around her torso to pull her so close that their noses were almost touching. "Oh don't you worry Elizabeth, Joe and Stan, will find her and when they do, you better hope she surrenders, 'cause we're not afraid to make her suffer." He said, his voice oddly calm. "Oh, and Mrs. Blake, as for any threats, I don't think your in any position to make them."

Any confidence she had then dissolved; Daphne was being chased by two man twice her size, the chance of her managing to escape was very slim, and as for herself and her husband, they were both completely helpless, at the hands of three mad men who hadn't yet explained what they were planning. She didn't speak, instead she found herself staring back into Mr. Stevenson's wild eyes, fear written all over her face. The wasn't anything else she could do...

The wind whipped through Daphne's auburn hair as she rode down the road on her bike, she wouldn't be able to get away on foot, especially considering where she was heading was a good three or four miles away. She was about half way there now, adrenaline rushing through her veins as she peddled as fast as she could to get away from the pair of men chasing her. It was becoming difficult for her to breath properly, her heart hadn't stopped thrashing about in her chest, refusing to let her hear anything but its beat.

She reached her destination, a large house home to one of closest friends; Fred Jones. Out of all of the gang, he lived the closest to her so this was her best chance at finding help. Throwing her bike to the ground, she ran up to the house and pounding on the door in rhythm with her heart.

No answer...She whimpered, banging on the door again, grazing her knuckles on the old fashioned wooden door. Becoming more desperate, she cried out, shouting at the top of her lungs for someone who wasn't there to help her. Faint lights from a car caught her attention as she heard it skid to a stop and the slam of doors. They were here...

"Freddie!" She screamed, "Freddie please help!" She sobbed, her fists now threatening to break down the door.

"Well, well, look who we have here." Mr. Sanderson said, walking up to the house.

"Looks like someone locked out." Mr Saunders mocked.

Unable to wait any longer, Daphne jumped off the small porch and made a run for the back garden, hoping to think of some way to save herself from the two men.

Fred walked into the malt shop, a smile playing on his lips, he couldn't wait until tonight. "Hey guys!" He chirped, spotting Velma, Shaggy and Scooby in their usual booth.

"Like, hey man!" Shaggy grinned, a plate of chips in front of him now falling victim to Scooby doo.

"I thought you said you weren't going to come to the malt shop before we went to the Wilson's." Velma said.

"Oh yeah, well I wasn't but my Mum and Dad went to some restaurant and left me home alone so I decided to come and see you lot." Fred replied, sliding into the booth next to Velma. "So is Daph still okay to come with us?"

"Oh yeah, she's going to sneak out tonight and meet us there at ten." Velma said, sipping her milkshake.

"Great." Fred said, grinning like an idiot.

_Authors Note: okay so finally there's some action in this story xD I'll probably be updating a lot more now, because I've been looking forward to writing about the new staff and their plot :D_

_But yes, as always reviews are appreciated and even if I don't reply I still read them all ^-^ Thank you again to all my regular reviewers and I hope you're happy with this chapter :)_


	20. No Where To Hide

Tears trickled down Daphne's face as she looked around the empty garden. There was nothing but a large oak tree and the tree swing the gang made a few years back, but that wasn't much use to her now. She was alone in a garden with no where to hide while two psychotic men proceeded to corner her. 'I have to go back.' She thought, 'If I could just get to my bike I could make a run for it.' However, she soon realised that getting her bike wasn't an option, to get to it she'd have to run back around the house, and that's exactly what they wanted her to do. She kicked a small stone in frustration, they had her cornered in Fred's garden and she had no way of getting back out without running straight into them.

"Oh Daphne...Come out, come out where ever you are..." One of them called, She didn't know which one, but they were waiting for her, and by the sound of it, getting much closer.

"You can run, but you can't hide sweetie..." The other called out.

That was it, as plain as the nose on her face, she only had one option; she'd have to run from them. Stretching quickly, she took a few deep breaths and looked in the direction of the voices, she could see the two shadows on the 6ft fence surrounding the Jones' garden. Then, as fast as she could, she darted out of the garden, straight past the two bewildered men and onto the side walk.

Sprinting down the road, she looked back to see no one was following her. A wave of relief and shock surged through her, but she didn't stop running, she wouldn't stop until she reached Shaggy's house. After a few minutes of non stop sprinting, she could barely breath without coughing, her lungs seemed to be failing on her, refusing to suck in the vital oxygen that she needed to continue, yet, despite feeling light headed and dizzy, she still carried on.

Looking back once more she still couldn't see anyone following her, puzzled, she continued to stared over her shoulder at the empty pavement. That's when she ran straight into someone, someone tall, someone broad and muscular, someone she really didn't want to run into. Mr. Saunders stood over her, his eyes narrow, a smirk on his face. "You should watch where you're going little girl." He growled, growing tired of this chase.

Quickly turning on her heel, she only managed a few steps before bumping into Mr. Sanderson's broad chest. Gasping she took a few steps backward, then glanced at Mr. Saunders over her shoulder. She looked from Mr. Saunders to Mr. Sanderson and began to whimper; they had her now. She felt a pair of hands roughly grip her as she was pulled tightly to Mr. Saunders' chest, still facing Mr. Sanderson.

"Let go!" She screeched, "H-how did you get here so fast!" She demanded.

"Oh sweetie pie, you might be fast but you can't out run a car." Mr. Sanderson smiled.

"P-please, L-let me go!" She begged, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. She struggled and tried to kick them both, but they just laughed at her futile attempts to free herself. She only stopped struggling when she noticed Mr. Sanderson pull a white cloth and a bottle from his pocket. He carefully tipped the bottle onto the cloth and then put it back in his pocket. She wasn't stupid, she knew what he was doing, he was going to knock her out with chloroform. It wasn't the first time it had been used on her, a number of the criminals they had unmasked had used this trick on her, she was no stranger to this method of kidnap, but she'd never been as scared then she was right now. "N-no please!" She cried, "D-don't!"

"Night, Night honey." Mr Saunderson mocked before pressing the cloth to her mouth. She shook her head violently, but there was no escape now, she could feel the darkness engulfing her as her body became weak and limp. The last thing she saw was Mr. Sanderson's twisted smile, the last thing she heard was their distorted laughter, the last thing she felt was failure.

Picking Daphne up and carelessly lifting her over his shoulder, Mr. Saunders casually walked over to the small black car, a satisfied grin on his face. "Joe, Open the boot." He said, delight in his voice as Mr. Sanderson opened the boot and stepped to one side. Mr. Saunders held Daphne in his arms for a moment, gazing down at the gorgeous young woman, "She's a beaut ain't she?"

"Sure is, come on we better get back, Bill's probably foaming at the mouth by now."

"Yeah..." He replied distantly, dropping Daphne's limp body into the boot and closing it.

Bleary eyes, Daphne groaned and lifted her head, not sure why she felt so awful. She tried to stretch, but found herself unable to. Curious, she looked down, her vision slightly blurry to find that her arms had been bound behind her back, then secured to her torso with more ropes. Further down, she noticed three loops of rope, all tied tightly above her knees, below her knees, and at her ankles. That's when it hit her, she remembered everything, and now, she was in the same position as her parents, tied up on the living room floor, unable to utter a single word due to the cloth gag tied between her teeth.

Finally coming to her senses, she looked around and spotted her Mother. Mrs. Blake was leaning against a wall, still tightly bound, mascara staining her cheeks, gag still loosely hanging around her neck. Her eyes were closed, but she was awake, Daphne could tell from her quivering lips and soft sobs that she was fully aware of what was happening, but Daphne still remained in the dark. At the foot of the sofa lay her father, and the sight sickened her. Like her Mother, he had his gag loose around his throat, but the thing that made her stomach turn was the blood dripping down his face. He had a busted lip, nose and if that wasn't enough, he had a small cut on his forehead that had lead to a steam of dried blood down one side of his face. Above Mr. Blake, sat on the sofa, were Mr, Saunders and Mr. Sanderson.

"Wakey, wakey little Blakey." Came an amused voice from behind her. There was no doubt to who it was, it was Mr. Stevenson, sat on the arm chair behind her. She felt a hard kick in her back and cried out into her gag.

Mrs. Blake's eyes shot open at the sound of her daughter's muffled cry of pain. Her eyes fixed on Mr. Stevenson, a harsh glare aimed at him.

"Oh Elizabeth, if looks could kill." Mr. Stevenson teased.

Daphne looked at her Mother, her eyes filled with unshed tears, only to see her turn away. Mrs. Blake rested her forehead on the grandfather clock she was sat next to, closing her eyes once more as tears began to trickle down her face once more. Daphne could her her off rhythm breathing, she was trying not to cry, she didn't like to look weak in front of her daughter, she was the adult here, she should be reassuring her daughter, telling her everything would be okay, but she couldn't bring herself to do that, she couldn't lie to her.

The clock struck ten, sending its chimes through the mansion, echoing through the empty halls. Daphne's eyes found the clock face, 'woah, I was out for quite a while..."

She was ripped from her thoughts as a hand roughly grabbed her hair and pulled her up. Muted cried of pain erupted from the hair sore teenager as Mr. Stevenson ragged her up onto his lap. Once again Mrs. Blake's eyes shot open, searching for the source of her daughters pain. "Hello there Daphne." He said in a sickly sweet voice. "Have a nice nap?"

She heard the low laughs of the two men sat on the sofa as they watched the show Mr. Stevenson was about to put in for them. She wriggled about on his lap, trying to free herself from his grasp, but he kept her firmly held in place.

"So, how about I tell you what we're doing here?" He said, as if he were speaking to a child. "Well, you see we've been hired by a rival company to come and steal your Daddy's formula for his bubble bath." His voice was slow, patronising, but mostly, it was frightening. "And well, your Daddy doesn't want to tell us, now that's not very nice of him, so we're just uhh...'persuading' him to share it with us."

Daphne began to whimper into her gag, she didn't like where this story was going, or how Mr. Stevenson was looking at her.

"But Daddy here still won't talk, so we're hitting him below the belt here and go for his little princess." His grip suddenly tightened, his hand clasped her hair, pulling it back harshly, forcing her to look up at the ceiling. "And well, I think you deserve what I'm planning to do with you, what with you acting like such a tease and all." His voice was a low growl now, anger rising inside him.

"Yeah, with all your short skirts and those long legs..." Mr. Sanderson said slowly.

"And then snuggling up to that Herring kid." Mr Saunders grunted, leaning forward in his chair, licking his lips.

"Such a tease, you deserve what's coming to you..." Mr. Stevenson said, his rough lips now brushing Daphne's soft neck.

"G-George!" Mrs. Blake cried, looking over at her husband desperately.

"You sick bastard!" Mr. Blake roared, thrashing about in his binds, "Let my daughter go right now or I swear to God I'll-" He was cut off by a harsh kick to the head by Mr. Saunders.

"Come on Georgey boy, you know what will make us stop, give us the formula..." Mr Stevenson mumbled, his lips still pressed to Daphne's throat. She whimpered and tried to wriggle free, but this effort only received another tug on her auburn locks.

"G-George, t-tell him!" Mrs. Blake cried, her gaze darting from Mr. Stevenson to her husband.

Mr. Blake hesitated, He'd worked his whole life to make that formula, but did he really care for that more than his daughter's well being?

_Authors note: okay next chapter is up :D hope you like it, and please, keep reviewing and telling me what you think! ^-^_

_Also, I'd just like to say a really BIG thank you to andrezapecanha for nominating me for best author in XxladyStrengthxX and AudreyMetalMouth's 'Scooby Doo FanFiction Awards.' Really unexpected, thank you so, so much! ^-^_


	21. Worries

"Where _is _she!" Fred muttered, his head in his hands as he stared at the steering wheel. He was in the Mystery Machine, Velma sat beside him, Shaggy ans Scooby sat in the back.

"Like man, chill, its only ten past." Shaggy said, his mouth full of chewed up sandwich.

"Yeah but she would have called us, or text us if she wasn't coming, or if she was late." Fred protested.

"Rell, Raybe..."

"Actually Scooby, I agree with Fred, this bis very unlike Daph, I mean, usually she's always on time." Velma said softly.

"We need to go see if everything's okay." Fred commented, starting the van.

"Like man, you worry to much." Shaggy stated.

"Yeah, well sometimes that pays off..." Fred murmured.

"So, Mr. Blake, care to share your formula with us?" Mr. Stevenson asked, his hands beginning to wander. Daphne sobbed protests into her gag.

"Fine." Mr. Blake sighed, unable to watch his daughter treated in such a way. "Upstairs, third room on the left. Inside there's a wardrobe, it has a false back, once you remove the panel, there's another small room. Inside of that room there's a safe, the combination is..." He paused, hesitant to tell them the combination.

"Yes?" Mr. Stevenson urged, his grip on Daphne becoming tighter and painful. It was the soft cry of pain heard through Daphne's gag that pushed him to tell the answer; he had to protect his daughter, he'd already failed her too many times.

"Three, Seven, Two, Nine." He sighed.

"Boys," Mr. Stevenson grinned, "Go get me that formula."

"Right Bill." They replied simultaneously as they stood up and hurried up the stairs.

"You better not be lying to me George, otherwise I may have to punish your little princess."

"I'm not, no please, just put her down." Mr. Blake said softly, his eyes glistening.

"We'll see about that when I get what I want." Mr. Stevenson murmured, eyeing Daphne up and down once again, and then doing the same to Mrs. Blake. "You've got a pretty little pair here George, it's just a shame your other daughters aren't here, we could have had so much fun." He said, a devilish smile on his face.

Mrs. Blake remained silent, terrified that if she was unable to hold back one of her remarks that Daphne would pay for it.

The Mystery Machine came to a stop outside the gates of Blake mansion. The gang crept out and proceeded to enter the grounds.

"Something's not right." Fred whispered, "Since when do the Blakes not have security on guard?"

"That does seem odd, maybe something is going on here Fred." Velma replied, her voice low.

"Like guys, you over think things, I'm sure security's just on a break or something." Shaggy muttered, trying to avoid Daphne's family at all costs. To them, he was a no good hippie, to him, they were no good snobs...well apart from Daphne that is, she was like a sister to him.

The continued creeping, very slowly, up to the mansion, towards a window where silhouettes could be seen. Cautiously, the group crawled in front of the window, keeping their heads down at rick of being spotted. They popped their heads up, carefully making sure that they were out of sight beforehand, and what they saw, made them sick, scared and furious. As they looked through the window, they could clearly see Mr. Blake still lying on the floor, blood dripping from his head, Mrs. Blake still leaning against the wall and Daphne, still sitting on Mr. Stevenson's lap.

"What...What the fuck!" Fred hissed, struggling to keep his voice down. He turned to Velma, waiting for her to say something, say _anything, _but she just clasped her hand over her mouth, to stunned to speak. Looking past her, he saw a confused looking Scooby, but an enraged Shaggy.

"We need to get her out of there." Shaggy said, his voice a low, angry growl.

"Freddie, w-we need a plan..." Velma said, her voice nothing more then a petrified whisper.

"I know...B-but I don't know what to do, I mean h-how are we going to get her out of there..." Fred slumped down against the brick wall, running his hand through his hair.

Velma was speechless; Fred without a plan was a rare sight, especially when it was Daphne whose in trouble.

"I've got a plan..." Shaggy mumbled, "It's a risky one, but it just might work..."

Looking up at the cowardly teenager, Velma saw something she hadn't seen in him before; determination. He wanted to help Daphne so badly, yet before, he was so reluctant to even go and check on her. 'Does this have something to do with what he said at the restaurant?' Velma thought, wondering just what could have possibly happened between Daphne and Shaggy.

"Bill, we've found it." Mr. Saunders grinned as he dangled a folder in his hands.

Mr. Stevenson shot up, pushing Daphne to the floor in his haste. "Yes!" He cried out in triumph, "We're gonna get some big bucks for this one boys!" He paused, looking down at the family cowering before him. "Boys, this is a nice place they have here isn't it? I bet there's lots of things worth a lot that we could...err...'borrow'"

"Haha yeah I know what you mean, I can see one right now." Mr. Sanderson said slyly, staring at Daphne.

"Oh don't worry, you can take her if you like, I wouldn't mind a bit of fun with her myself if I'm honest." Mr. Stevenson grinned.

"No!" Mrs. Blake cried, "You leave her alone!"

"Could we take her too?" Mr. Saunders said, eyeing Mrs. Blake up and down.

However, before anyone could say anymore, the doorbell rang.

_Authors Note: okay so now I predict that there is going to be about another two chapers for this story :) but then again I could be wrong XD_

_Thank you to all my reviewers, especially Chezza456, craponacrutch and andrezapecanha who seem to review almost every chapter :)_


	22. Help is on the way?

Silence enveloped the room as all eyes looked towards the hall. "Ignore it." Mr. Stevenson ordered.

A moment passed as they waited for the person at the door to leave, but it was soon clear that they were still there as the doorbell rang once again. "Like, I know you're in there Mrs Blake, I like, need to talk to you."

"Who, the hell, is _that_?" Mr. Stevenson growled. He paused, looking round the room, in deep thought. His beady eyes fixed on Mrs. Blake and narrowed. "He wants to see her." He said coldly, pointing a bony finger at her, "Untie her and clean her up a little."

Daphne watched with wide, worried eyes as Mr. Saunders pulled her mother up and began to wipe her mascara stained cheeks with a tissue, spitting on it to make sure it came off. He pulled out a knife and untied her, still rubbing her cheeks and warned her, "Don't bother trying anything funny." Mrs. Blake nodded, her eyes never leaving the blade in his hands as he roughly gripped her by the fore arm, dragging her out to the hallway. "Get rid of him, and don't you dare try and give us away, or you'll all get it." He growled, pressing the cold knife to her throat threateningly.

She nodded, pulling away to the best of her ability before he let her go and pushed her towards the door. With trembling hands she reached out and opened the door just enough so that she could pop her head out of the door. Outside, on the front steps, stood Shaggy, along with his faithful dog Scooby Doo. "Like, hey Mrs. Blake." He greeted.

"N-Norville?" She said softly, "W-what are you doing here?"

"Like, well yeah, uh, you see..." Shaggy stammered.

"Norville spit it out!" Mrs. Blake cried out, feeling the knife at the base of her back.

"Like, its about Daphne." He said quickly, sensing something was distressing the woman before him.

"What about her?" She said breathlessly.

"Like I just wanted to talk to you about, like, why she can't see us. Can I like, come in?" He said, pushing the door as he tried to walk in.

"N-No!" Mrs. Blake cried, holding the door firmly, stopping Shaggy from entering. She received a harsh slap to the backside as Mr. Saunders growled at her, "Get rid of him."

"Norville, I-I think you need to leave." She said weakly, avoiding looking him in the eyes.

"Mrs. Blake are you okay? I just...really need to speak to you and Daphne." Shaggy said.

"Well, we're a little tied up right now Norville." Mrs. Blake murmured, hoping that he would pick up on her hint. Unfortunately, Mr Saunders did, once again he slapped her behind and hissed orders at her. "You should really leave." She mumbled.

"Fine." Shaggy grunted coldly, "But the police are on their way, they want to ask you and Daphne something, I'm not sure what though."

"W-what!" Mrs. Blake gasped, fear filling her body.

"Yeah I think it's something to do with Red Herring." He shrugged, before turning on his heel and leaving, "See you Mrs. Blake."

Mr. Saunders slammed the door shut, grabbing Mrs. Blake by her collar and pushing her against the wall. "You called the police?" He hissed, his voice low and threatening. "Oh you'll regret that."

"No, I-I swear I didn't" She protested, the blade of the knife pressing against the side of her throat.

Mr. Saunders narrowed his eyes, watching the tears of fear dripping down Mrs. Blake's face. He ripped her away from the wall, gripping her red locks in his hand, and ragged her into the living room. "The police are on their way here." He said, no emotion in his voice.

"What!" Mr. Stevenson and Sanderson yelled in unison.

"That scrawny little hippie kid just said so. He said it was about the Herring boy, but I wouldn't be so sure." Mr. Saunders hissed, glaring at the struggling Mrs. Blake.

"Either way, the police are coming and we can't be here." Mr. Stevenson muttered. "Grab the girl and some other things and we'll go."

Daphne gasped into her gag, they were going to take her, _kidnap _her. Panic rose in her chest, 'No, no, no, no, no!' She thought, shaking her head desperately as Mr. Sanderson reached out for her.

Suddenly, Mrs. Blake kicked Mr, Saunders in the shins and dove towards Mr. Stevenson. "No! No, I won't let you take my baby away like that you disgusting bastard!" She screamed, using her long, manicured nails to claw at his face.

"Get, this , ugh, psychopath, off me!" He roared. Slapping Mrs. Blake hard across the face, sending her to the floor.

"Don't you dare touch my wife!" Mr. Blake growled, wriggling in his bonds.

Mr. Sanderson pulled Daphne up onto his shoulder, smiling, "Well?" He asked.

"Well what?" Mr. Stevenson spat, wiping the blood from the cuts on his face.

"Do I still get to take that one aswell?" He said pointing at Mrs. Blake who was cowering in the corner, clutching her burning cheek.

"Sure, fine, I don't care." Mr. Stevenson grunted, "Just hurry up and bring them both to the car."

Mr. Sanderson smiled as Mr. Saunders advanced on Mrs. Blake, knife in one hand, handcuffs in the other. "G-George..." Mrs. Blake whimpered, "George help, please...Help!" She screeched as she was thrown onto her back, her hands pulled painfully behind her back and secured with handcuffs.

"Elizabeth..." He said softly, turning his head away to hide his tears from their captors, nut what he saw wasn't any better. "D-Daphne..."

She screamed into her gag, tears rolling down her face as she was carried out of the room. Her mother soon followed, until they were all out in the hall, bar Mr. Blake who was still tied up on the living room floor. Mr. Stevenson stood, admiring the things he had stolen, the formula, the Blake's various belongings and two very pretty red heads...

_Author's Note: okayy so maybe 25 chapters at the most for this story now, I have turned the chapter I was planning into at least two, perhaps 3 later on, but here's the next one for now :)_

_Please review and tell me what you think of this chapter :)_


	23. A Not So Quick Get Away

Her screams we're reduced to futile mews as she was carried over the threshold, tears streaming down her face. She struggled the best she could in her situation, glancing at her mother for some kind of support, for some kind of reassurance that everything was going to be okay; but there wasn't. Mrs. Blake almost mirrored Daphne's struggle, with the exception of a few cries for help as she had not yet been gagged. Yet, what made Daphne's hope disintegrate, was the look of pure defeat written across her Mother's face.

They headed over to the small black car, Mr. Stevenson leading. "We'll only be able to fit one in the boot." He grumbled. He looked from Daphne to Mrs. Blake trying to make a decision, and after a few seconds, pointed to Daphne. "She's a bit smaller, she can go in the boot." As soon as he uttered those few words, Daphne was dumped into the boot, the top closed forcefully over her.

"Let her go!" Mrs. Blake demanded, but deep down, she knew that they wouldn't. They had won.

"Awww don't worry Lizzie,"Mr Saunders mocked, "Well get her out onces we're a few hundred miles from here."

Carelessly, she was thrown into the back seat of the car and forced to the floor where Mr. Saunders and Mr. Sanderson kept her pressed down with their feet. She shouted insults, her voice cracking as more tears flooded her face, but for her protests only received a kick to her side.

"What the hell?" Mr. Stevenson exclaimed, slamming his fist down onto the steering wheel.

"What is it Bill?" Mr. Saunders asked, a slight worry entering his mind.

"The car won't start, one of you get out and help me." He growled opening the car door.

He stormed to the front of the car, Mr. Sanderson hot on his trail as he lifted the bonnet. "What, the fuck, is this." he said slowly, anger boiling inside of him.

"The- the engines missing!" Mr. Sanderson gasped.

"I know that you idiot!" He shouted, turning to face him. "Well where the hell is it!" He yelled.

"I-I dunno Bill."

"Well what are we supposed to do!" He bellowed.

"Uh..." Mr. Sanderson stammered, searching for an answer that wouldn't cause more shouting.

"Saunders! Get out here and help sort this mess out!" He yelled.

"What up?" He asked, stepping out of the car.

"The engines gone, now go look for it!"

"What, _why?_" He grunted. "I though I was supposed to make sure that she doesn't get away!" He cried, pointing to the car where Mrs. Blake lay sobbing. "Let him do it!"

"What, why me! I think I should stay and keep an eye one her!"

"You've had your eyes on her all night!"

The three men stood bickering for a while, drowning out Mrs. Blake's desperate cries for help. "Fine!" Mr. Stevenson finally shouted, silencing the other two. "I'll go get the keys for the limo from inside, go grab those two and we'll go! And take care of the young one, we'll hold her for ransom later." He growled.

"What about the other one?" Mr. Saunders asked.

"I don't care. Do what you want, take her, leave her, kill her if you like, just for God sake shut her up!" Mr. Stevenson muttered, quickly walking away towards the mansion.

Mr. Saunders jumped into action, scooping Mrs. Blake into his arms and firmly gagging her with a handkerchief. "Don't worry," He whispered, "I won't kill you." He murmured softly, stroking the terrified woman's hair tenderly. She shuddered, just as scared of what he intended to do instead.

Carrying her around to the boot, he continued to gaze down at her, making her a lot more uncomfortable than she was on the floor of the car. "Shit!" gasped a voice beside them. "S-she's not in there!" Mr. Sanderson exclaimed in disbelief.

"What!" Mr. Saunders cried, lunging forward to look into the boot. Just as Mr. Sanderson said, she wasn't there. "W-where is she!"

"Ohhhh no, Bill is gonna kill us!" Mr. Sanderson panicked.

As if on cue, Mr. Stevenson raced up to the car, the keys jingling in his hands. "Right, come on boys, we need to go." He said, ushering them towards the limousine.

"Uhh Bill... Daphne's kinda, well...not here." Mr. Saunders stammered.

"WHAT!" He yelled, his voice echoing through the grounds.

Fred jumped from the sudden break in silence, clutching a trembling red head to his chest. "I think they've noticed you're not there." He smirked, still loosening Daphne's bonds.

Once the argument had flared up between the three men, Fred had taken his chance to rescue Daphne from the boot, and sprinted around the very same shed Daphne had hidden behind earlier in the day.

Burrying her face into Fred's muscular chest she let the tears fall freely, not bothering to try and stop them. Her throat was tight, her head still trying to catch up with what was going on. "Daph..." Fred whispered, cradling her, "I'm so happy I got here in time."

"Freddie," She whimpered, her voice faint, "They've still got my parents."

He looked down at her, she was looking up at him now, with her wide watery eyes. He'd never seen her so worried, so upset...so scared. The way she was looking at him was tearing him apart inside, and he found himself fighting back the urge to cry as well. "Don't worry Daph, We'll save them, Shaggy and Velma won't let you down...and I won't either." He whispered, pulling her closer so that their faces were just inches apart. Fred couldn't help it, every time he got this close to Daphne, no matter what the situation, he couldn't help but long for his lips to press against hers, to show her how he really felt. But he couldn't, not now, not while she was in this state, he couldn't take advantage of her like that, he just wouldn't be able to savour the moment if it happened now. So instead, he guided her head to his shoulder, but he could swear, that just for a second, she looked disappointed.

_Authors note: okayy once again, this chapter was supposed to be longer, but I don't know if I'm going to get that done anytime soon as I should be revising for my exams right now, but I feel bad making people wait for this story xD_

_As always, thank you to my reviewers and for all the feedback I've had for this story! ^-^_


	24. The End?

_Authors note: okayy before I continue, I would just like to say that I am a young writer, and I'm sorry if I haven't put enough thought into this story or if I use too much 'British slang' for your liking, but its my story and if its unrealistic, I don't care. Is it a little confusing? Well okay then, I know myself that it is in places, but for goodness sake its my first story on here and although I don't mind negative criticism, you could at least try and be polite about it. And by the way, if the engine going missing seemed VERY unrealistic, which I myself believe it did, I got the idea from one of the episodes, so I am trying to keep it on the same lines as the actual cartoons. _

_Very sorry for the rant, but I'm sure that other people have similar questions and criticisms about this story, so I decided to write it here. _

The three men all headed towards the limo, growing more wary of the time as each second passed by. The police could show up any minute, and they still hadn't found Daphne. "We'll have to leave her." Mr. Stevenson grumbled, "It's a good thing we still have her."

As the reached the limousine, Mr. Stevenson let out a cry of frustration; each tyre had been drained of air, and were now drooping to the floor. "Someone's here." he hissed, "Someone's here and they're messing with us, and when I find them, I'm going to make sure they have a slow, painful death." His voice was low, his eyes narrow as he searched the space around them, searching for the culprit. "We'll have to go get another car." He growled at the two men, "Come with me incase someone is in the garage, we'll make sure they get what's coming to them."

"Like, Velms?" Shaggy whispered to the young woman by his side, "You ready?"

"Y-yeah I think." She whispered back, shaking slightly.

"Scoob?" Shaggy called out, "You okay?"

"Reah..." Said the unseen figure, a slight uncertainty in his voice.

Shaggy and Velma had hidden behind a purple convertible belonging to Mrs. Blake, although she rarely drove anywhere herself. There were multiple cars in the garage, all belonging to one of the Blake's almost all of them were a different shade of purple. Boxes were lined up along one side of the room, full of various products to keep each car looking its best. That's where Scooby was hiding, unseen, he remained crouched, out of sight to anyone who entered.

"In here, we'll take one of these." A low, unamused voice grunted as Mr. Stevenson, Mr. Saunders and Mr. Sanderson entered, Mrs. Blake helpless in their presence. "If anyone's in here, come out now or pay the price!" Mr. Stevenson bellowed.

"Uhh, I'm here." Called Velma timid voice as she crawled out from her hiding place.

"Aww, hey there sweeite," Mr. Sanderson said stepping forward, "Now what are you doing in here?"

"I uh, I got lost." Velma stammered, taking a few steps backwards, towards the garage door.

"Ahh, now that wasn't very clever now was it?" Mr. Stevenson said, also stepping towards her. "I'm afraid that now, we're going to have to teach you a little lesson." As he said that, he clenched his fists and began walking towards Velma, chuckling softly to himself.

Mrs. Blake cried out into her gag, writhing in Mr. Saunders' arms as she tried to break free and warn Velma before it was too late. Mr. Saunders tightened his grip on her to keep her still, but she didn't stop, she continued to struggle wildly, attempting to kick him in the shins.

"Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything." Velma said apologetically.

"So, you're the one whose been messing with us huh?" Mr. Stevenson growled, getting closer to her.

"Yes, but I honestly didn't mean any harm, I was just pulling a prank on the Blakes." She said innocently, stopping by a small green beetle Mr. Blake had bought last summer.

"Oh, well for some reason, I don't believe you..." He hissed, still walking closer to the small brunette. Mr. Sanderson remained at his side, taking each step in time with him, his own fists clenched.

They were now just a few metres away from Velma, when a loud, shrill voice cried out, "Now Scoob!" In a split second Scooby was up on his hind legs, hosepipe in hand.

"What the fu-" But before Mr Stevenson could finish his sentence, Scooby began to drench them with the powerful hosepipe installed in the garage, used to clean the cars. Scooby laughed, watching the seemingly strong men, scream like little girls because of a bit of water, but then again, it was quite a powerful stream.

Mr. Saunders stood, bewildered as he watched Mr. Sanderson and Mr. Stevenson slip and fall on the hard concrete floor, while Velma pulled out a bottle of Blake's Bubbles and squirted it over the pair. Now, whenever the two tried to stand, one of them slipped and knocked the other back down. The two shouted curses at each other, both growing red in the face as their frustration became worse.

"Scoob!" Shaggy cried once again, pointing towards Mr. Saunders. Scooby nodded and aimed the hose at Mr. Saunders, and unfortunately at Mrs. Blake as well. Their eyes widened as they saw the water gushing towards them, Shaggy also running over to them with a bottle of Blake's Bubbles. Soon enough, the two of them ended up in a similar position to Mr. Stevenson and Mr. Sanderson. Each time any one them became close to standing, Scooby would once again fire the hose at them, and either Shaggy or Velma would coat them in a fresh layer of bubble bath.

Meanwhile, Fred and Daphne were creeping into the mansion, making sure to stay quiet and not to attract any unwanted attention. They walked into the living room, Daphne holding on to Fred's arm tightly.

"Daddy!" She cried once she spotted her Father, still struggling on the floor. She let go of Fred and Fell to her knees, untying the ropes around his torso.

"Daphne! Oh thank God you're okay!" He sighed in relief. "Where's your Mother?"

Daphne looked up at Fred, her eyes glistening as she waited for an answer from the blonde boy. "Shaggy, Scooby and Velma are helping her, don't worry, they won't let anything happen to her." He said to Daphne, trying his best to ignore the man on the floor.

"Thank you Fredrick." Mr. Blake said softly as his Daughter's shaky hands continued to untie him.

"It's fine. Really." He muttered, dropping to his knees and helping Daphne with the ropes.

An awkward silence engulfed the room as no one knew what to say. The tension between the three was unmistakeable as they all refused to look each other in the eyes. Daphne's hands were trembling uncontrollably as she reached the finals knots securing her Father's wrists. Fred noticed and gently steadied her hands with his own. Looking up, Daphne finally made eye contact with him, he smiles reassuringly at her, and despite her current state, she smiled back. A few seconds passed where they couldn't break their gaze, but an abrupt cough from Mr. Blake make them quickly continue to untie his wrists.

"Come on, we better check on the others." Fred said, helping Daphne to her feet.

The two Blakes followed, Mr. Blake holding his Daughter protectively under his arm. Normally, if he tried to do something like this, Daphne would pull away. She'd never had the best relationship with her Father, mostly because she tended to disobey him a lot, so they never really got this close, and if they did, it made both of them fell uncomfortable. But now, Daphne was just relieved that her Father was same, and Mr. Blake felt the exact same way about her. Now they just had to hope that Mrs. Blake was still in one piece.

They walked into the garage, and the sight that awaited them almost had them doubled over in laughter as they watched the three thugs slipping and sliding across the floor trying to catch their balance. Scooby was still soaking them with the hope pipe, and Shaggy was still squirting bubble bath over them. Velma had a soapy Mrs. Blake in one corner of the room, picking the lock on her handcuffs and grinning at the sight before them.

Daphne carefully avoided the puddles of soapy water dotted about the room and ran to see her mother, who was now free from her handcuffs. Daphne tackled her, nearly knocking her off her feet in the process, but Mrs. Blake didn't mind, she was just happy to see her Daughter unharmed. They held each other tightly, taking in each other's presence as Mrs. Blake began to well up.

Sirens were heard outside, the faint high pitched sound becoming louder and louder as the police drew closer. The three men began to panic, trying much more desperately to stand, but Shaggy and Scooby continued with their antics and kept them at bay.

Velma pulled out a small remote and pressed a button, the garage door roared to life and began to open. Outside were around 4 police cars and a van, police officers stood behind the car doors, pointing their guns towards Mr. Stevenson, Mr. Saunders and Mr. Sanderson.

They acted quickly, the three men were soon cuffed and were loaded into the back of the police van, shouting something about "Meddling kids" on their way. The police spoke to Mystery Inc. and the Blake family, telling them that soon they would be called in for statements and have to attend the court hearing where they we're being charge for various offences.

Daphne stumbled over to the rest of the gang, a relieved smile never once leaving her face. "Hey guys," She said softly, her voice gruff from her attempted screaming before, "Thanks so much for all of this, really, I don't know what I'd do without you guys."

"Don't mention it Daph, we'd never ignore someone who needed out help, especially you." Fred said, staring dreamily at the red head. Despite her mascara stained cheeks ans her ruffled hair, she was still the most amazing creature he'd ever laid his eyes upon.

"Yeah Daph, we'll always be here for you." Velma said, smiling sweetly.

"Well guys, just thank you so much, but I should have known, Freddie's plans never fail." She said smiling at the blonde boy, ignoring Velma's scoffs at her comment.

"Actually Daph, this wasn't my plan." He admitted. Daphne eyes widened a little, Fred always came up with the plan, it was something he loved to do. "It was all Shaggy's idea." He said, pointing towards the cowardly teenager squatted on the floor with Scooby.

A large smile appeared on her face, "Shaggy, you came up with the plan?" She asked, pleased, shocked and slightly amused.

"Like, uh, yeah." He said smiling warmly, still stroking Scooby.

Without another word Daphne's arms were around his neck, she was cuddled in close to him. "Thank you." She whispered in his ear.

"Like, Daph it's fine, like I told you, I'll always be here to make sure nothing happens to you." He said softly, but it still managed to reach Velma's ears.

'When did he tell her that?' She thought, feeling slightly jealous of Daphne right now. 'Something must have happened between them, is there still something going on?' She thought, her mind racing with questions about Shaggy and Daphne. Her heart began to sink as another though entered her mind, 'A-are the actually a couple?' However, she couldn't think about this for too much longer, as Mr. and Mrs. Blake approached them, a piece of paper in Mr. Blake's hand.

"Hello there." Mr. Blake said, a smile playing on his lips. "Elizabeth and I were talking, and well, we think you deserve this." He passed Fred the piece of paper, which just so happened to be a check, for £20,000.

Fred's jaw dropped, "Uh, Mr. Blake, really this, this is too kind."

"No," Mr. Blake said, holding is hand up to Fred to signal that he stop talking. "You not only saved my company, but you saved my wife and my Daughter from a terrible fate. For that, I cannot thank you enough." He said holding Mr. Blake close to his chest.

All of the gang stood in shock at the sudden generosity of the usually frugal man. "uhh, guys?" Velma piped up, "We were supposed to be at the Wilson' place a few hours ago..." She said looking at her watch.

"Like man, I totally forgot about that." Shaggy said.

"Reah, re roo." Scooby agreed.

"Well, I think it's a bit late to go today, we'll have to go another day, but I think we should wait a few days at least." Fred murmured, looking at Daphne who was staring at them curiously. "Daph, you up for it? We can wait a while if you want." He glanced at Mr. Blake, who had a look of disapproval on his face.

"I think she can." Mrs. Blake said, before Daphne could even answer. "Just please honey, do be careful." She said, looking worried.

Daphne smiled at her Mother, avoiding her Fathers disapproving gaze, but after the week he had put her through, he decided that it was better to stay quiet...for now at least.

_Authors note: okayy end of story :) And if you want to know what happens at the Wilson's farm,kepp an eye out for my next story, as I shall be turning this into a series :) Thank you again to everyone who liked this story and reviewed, and I hope you guys like my next story as much as you liked this one! ^-^ _


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